Matsuyama Dogo Autumn Festival

About this event

Matsuyama Dogo Autumn Festival is a thrilling festival held in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture. The main highlight is the "hachiawase," where two portable shrines (mikoshi) violently crash into each other, eliciting cheers and applause from spectators the instant they collide. Along with spirited shouts, the mikoshi are tilted at a 45-degree angle, facing off before fiercely clashing against one another, creating an impressive scene accompanied by a distinctive, heavy sound like the rumbling of the earth. At 5:30 AM before sunrise, the shrine gates open, and the eight grand mikoshi from eight towns, having departed from Isaniwa Shrine and Yu Shrine, gather one after another at the horse grounds. Many tourists visit every year in front of Dogo Station and the arcade to catch a glimpse of the mikoshi. From around 6:30 AM on October 7, in front of Dogo Onsen Station, the eight grand mikoshi from the eight towns perform two "hachiawase" clashes each, making a total of eight dynamic collisions. Also called "fighting mikoshi" (kenka mikoshi), the young "mikoshi guards" surrounding the shrines push against each other with all their might in an awe-inspiring sight. In addition to the clashes, the departures (miyadafushi) and returns (miyairi) are highlights; the grand mikoshi making their way one after another up the steep 135 stone steps of Isaniwa Shrine is so magnificent and spectacular that the mikoshi seem shrouded in mist from the carriers' heat and energy.

Venue

In Front of Dogo Onsen Station

7 Dogoyuno-machi, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-0842, Japan