Goryo Suijin Festival: entrusting wishes to a straw boat and setting it adrift on the Tone River
Goryo Suijin Festival
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Season / frequency
- Final Sunday of July (in principle) / Every year
- Area
- Gunma Prefecture・Tamamura Town(From Tokyo: approx. 50 min–1 h · bullet train)Prefecture-level estimate to a main station or airport, not the venue. Airport access, check-in and onward travel are extra; remote areas and islands can take much longer.
- Features
- Highlights and activities
- Wishes behind the festival
- Last updated
- 2026/10/19
This water deity festival features a large straw boat that travels through the Goryo district before finally being set adrift on the Tone River. The local tradition of praying for protection from water-related disasters and for good health is carried on through the children’s procession and the adults setting the boat afloat.
About Goryo Suijin Festival
Goryo Suijin Festival is a water deity observance passed down in Goryo, Tamamura Town, where the Tone and Karasu rivers meet.
It brings together the way of life in an area that once prospered as a village of boatmen and faith in Osugi-sha, where people pray for safety on the water.
A large boat is made from straw, paraded through the district, and then set adrift on the Tone River to pray for protection from water-related disasters and for good health.
Today, this distinctive local festival is carried on by the entire Goryo district.
Source: 国指定文化財等データベース / 五料の水神祭 - 地域文化資産ポータル
Festival highlights
The main highlight is the “Suijinmaru,” a boat about 7 meters long made from straw and green bamboo.
Straw is tied to a bamboo frame, which is finished as a boat complete with a cabin, lanterns, rudder, anchor, and flags.
Children pull the completed boat through the Goryo district, and at dusk adults carry it into the Tone River.
As the boat moves downstream across the water, it carries the wish to send the district’s misfortunes far away.
Source: 五料の水神祭 文化遺産オンライン
Goryo Suijin Festival: entrusting wishes to a straw boat and setting it adrift on the Tone River
What to expect
On the Sunday before the festival, the straw boat is made in the grounds of Iidama Shrine.
On the day of the festival, a ceremony is held at the shrine. From evening, the boat is placed on a handcart and paraded through the Goryo district. Along the route, people offer seasonal vegetables to the boat and place money in the collection boxes carried by children.
After completing a circuit, the boat is taken to the Tone River riverbank near Goryo Bridge. The lanterns are lit, and then adults set the boat afloat on the river.
How to take part
No participation requirements, such as members of the public helping to pull the boat, have been announced.
The event is primarily carried out by the organizers, children, and adults of the Goryo district.
Children take the boat around the district on a handcart, while the adults who help organize the event build the boat and take it to the river to be set adrift.
If you visit to watch, please do so by observing the procession and activities along the riverbank without disrupting local events.
Location and access
- Venue and address
The procession starts at Iidama Shrine and travels through the Goryo district, before the boat is set afloat on the Tone River riverbank near the downstream side of Goryo Bridge.
- Address
The address is 1010 Goryo, Tamamura Town, Sawa District, Gunma Prefecture (Iidama Shrine).
Events on the riverbank take place by the water, so please follow the instructions of staff at the site.
Event venue 群馬県玉村町 飯玉神社を起点に五料地区を巡行し
This map uses the venue name. Check the official guide for the event area and entrances.
Dates and season
It is generally held on the last Sunday of July.
It was formerly held on July 25, but the date was changed to its current timing in Heisei 12. The boat is made on the Sunday before the festival.
Accommodation and hotels PR
Showing nearby accommodation.
Prices and availability are current at the time of retrieval. For multi-night stays, only the first night’s price is shown. Confirm the final price and directions to the venue with the booking provider. Select your dates again when using the area search link. Search area: within 3 km of Central Gunma Prefecture / Tamamura Town (the search is not centered on the festival venue)
Nearby attractions
玉村八幡宮
群馬県玉村町にある神社
Origins and History of Goryo Suijin Festival
Goryo prospered as a key port on the Tone River shipping route, handling the exchange of goods with the Edo area after Goryo Kawagishi port was established in the early modern period.
It is said that the water deity festival began when boatmen invited the deity of Osugi-sha from Osugi Shrine to serve as a guardian of safety on the water.
To avoid flooding, Osugi-sha was moved into the grounds of Iidama Shrine and enshrined together with the shrine in Meiji 41 (1908).
After the decline of the shipping industry, the event evolved from one centered on boatmen into a festival carried on by the whole district.
Official information
The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Database of National Cultural Properties introduces Goryo Suijin Festival as an “intangible folk cultural property for which measures such as creating a record should be taken.”
It is also listed on the Cultural Heritage Online website as an intangible folk cultural property designated by Gunma Prefecture.
Tamamura Town’s activity reports also feature it as an important local festival held at Goryo Iidama Shrine.
Goryo Suijin Festival at a Glance
Goryo Suijin Festival is a traditional event in Goryo, Tamamura Town, rooted in Tone River shipping and the lives of boatmen.
A boat about 7 meters long is made from straw and green bamboo. After children parade it through the district, adults set it adrift on the Tone River.
The heart of the festival is entrusting misfortune to the boat and praying for protection from water-related disasters and for good health.
It is generally held on the final Sunday of July, at Iidama Shrine, in the Goryo district, and on the Tone River riverbank.
Japanese Festivals.jp Editorial Team
Celebrating local culture and helping you discover a side of Japan you never knew.
Article updated: 2026/10/19
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