Kentosai Candle Festival

About this event

The Kentosai is a winter tradition in Sanjo that has continued since the Edo period, serving as a regular event at Hachimangu Shrine. Enormous sacred lanterns (goshinto) donated by shrine parishioners—measuring 50 centimeters in diameter, 1 meter in height, and weighing between 30 and 50 kilograms—attract widespread faith as devotional lights illuminating the prosperity and blessed future of citizens. Its origins trace back to Sanjo hardware merchants praying to the sacred lanterns for business prosperity and travel safety, leading to it also being called the 'Candle Festival' (Rosoku Matsuri). Numerous giant sacred lanterns illuminating the shrine grounds create a solemn and mystical atmosphere, bustling with many visitors.

Venue

Sanjo Hachimangu Shrine

12-18 Hachimanchō, Sanjo, Niigata 955-0073