An Okayama summer festival entrusting prayers for a good harvest to a procession of seedlings and ohata banners
Kibitsuhiko Shrine’s Otaue Festival
The 2026 edition of Kibitsuhiko Shrine’s Otaue Festival has ended.
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Dates
- 2026/08/02 〜 2026/08/03Ended
- Season / frequency
- Every year on August 2 and the 3rd / Every year
- Location
- Kibitsuhiko Shrine
- Area
- Okayama Prefecture・Okayama City(From Tokyo: approx. 3 h 10 min–3 h 40 min · 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
- Participation / viewing
- Spectators welcome
- Participation fee
- A ¥500 offering is required to receive a fan. The donation for献納 of gohei is ¥15,000 or more.
- Last updated
- 2026/10/19
The Otaue Festival is held at Kibitsuhiko Shrine in Okayama City to pray for abundant harvests and the well-being of the community. Through the Otoyo Ceremony and the procession of ohata banners, this festival offers a chance to experience Kibi’s rice-growing culture and age-old prayers.
About Kibitsuhiko Shrine’s Otaue Festival
Kibitsuhiko Shrine’s Otaue Festival is a summer Shinto ceremony in Okayama that offers prayers for abundant harvests and the well-being of the community.
The festival centers on the Otoyo Ceremony on August 2 and the Ohata Dedication Ceremony on the 3rd.
The procession of ohata banners, rice-field dances, lion dancers, and other elements carry on rice-growing culture and traditions associated with Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto.
The festival is also designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property by Okayama Prefecture.
Source: 御田植祭 | イベント | 【公式】岡山市の観光情報サイト OKAYAMA KANKO .net / 吉備津彦神社｜岡山県の神社を探す｜岡山県神社庁
Festival highlights
The highlight is the Ohata Dedication Ceremony, in which a procession carrying white-cloth ohata banners with fans attached circles the sacred pond while singing rice-planting songs.
The procession includes , taiko lion dancers, performers wearing high-nosed masks, rice seedlings, hoes, parishioners, and others, forming a long line.
After the ceremony, fans from the ohata banners are distributed to worshippers, and a tradition is said to have been passed down of placing them in rice fields and vegetable plots to pray for a good harvest.
An Okayama summer festival entrusting prayers for a good harvest to a procession of seedlings and ohata banners
What to expect
On August 2, the Yakujin Festival, which involves passing through a thatched ring, the Main Shrine Ceremony, a rice-field dance offering, and the Otoyo Ceremony take place.
During the Otoyo Ceremony, seedlings are carried on an ohaguruma cart and placed in bamboo tubes on an Otoyo altar set up in the pond.
On the following day, the 3rd, the Ohata Dedication Ceremony takes place after the Main Shrine Ceremony, and the procession of ohata banners circles the sacred pond before proceeding to the shrine buildings.
Source: 国指定文化財等データベース
How to take part
Visitors may watch the ceremonies and worship at the shrine.
At the Ohata Dedication Ceremony on August 3, visitors are told that the fans attached to the ohata banners are distributed to worshippers.
If you receive a fan, a saisen contribution of 500 yen is required.
To take part in the festival as an ohata banner donor, attend the ceremony, and wear ceremonial attire, you must apply separately.
If you wish to attend the August 3 festival as a donor of gohei, contact the Kibi-tsuhiko office by July 24.
Anyone wishing to wear ceremonial attire must make arrangements in advance. Attire may be worn by up to 3 people, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Attendees should gather at Nakayama Kaikan by 8:30 a.m.
Source: Kibitsuhiko Shrine
Location and access
- Venue and address
Kibi-tsuhiko Jinja (1043 Ichinomiya, Kita Ward, Okayama City)
- Train and bus
Get off at Bizen-Ichinomiya Station on the JR Momotaro Line; the main is a 3-minute walk away.
- By car
About 3.5 km toward Soja from the Kibi SA smart interchange on the Sanyo Expressway, about 5.5 km from Okayama IC, and about 8 km from Soja IC on the Okayama Expressway.
- Parking
Parking is available on the .
The usual opening hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Source: アクセス | 吉備津彦神社
Address 1043 Ichinomiya, Kita-ku, Okayama City
Dates and season
2026 event information (the listed dates have passed)
The 2026 Otaue Festival was scheduled to take place over 2 days, from August 2 (Sunday) through the 3rd (Monday).
The Yakujin Festival, Main Shrine Ceremony, and Otoyo Ceremony were scheduled for the 2nd, and the Main Shrine Ceremony and Ohata Dedication Ceremony for the 3rd.
The Otoyo Ceremony on August 2 was listed as starting at 8:30 p.m., and the Main Shrine Ceremony on the 3rd at 10 a.m.
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 Okayama Prefecture / Okayama City (the search is not centered on the festival venue)
Tips for your visit
The August 2 Otoshiyo Shinji takes place at night, so please allow plenty of time for your visit.
As this is a summer festival, visitors are advised to take their own precautions against infectious diseases and heatstroke.
The shrine grounds and parking lot open at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m.
Visitors are asked not to bring pets when visiting the shrine or walking around the grounds.
Nearby attractions
Behind Kibitsuhiko Shrine is Mount Kibinakayama, which is regarded as the sacred mountain embodying the deity.
At the summit is the Okumiya Iwakura, one of the central sites of the shrine’s worship.
Even when visiting in connection with the festival, please respect the sacred nature of the shrine grounds and worship quietly, following any guidance in the precincts and surrounding area.
備前国総社宮
岡山県岡山市中区祇園にある神社
吉備の中山
岡山市にある山
Kibitsuhiko Shrine
岡山市北区にある神社
吉備津神社
岡山市北区にある神社
夢二郷土美術館
岡山県岡山市にある美術館
岡山城
岡山県の城
岡山市半田山植物園
岡山県の公園・庭園のスポットです。
岡山市立オリエント美術館
岡山市北区にある美術館
岡山県立博物館
岡山市北区の後楽園外苑にある博物館
岡山県立美術館
岡山市北区にある美術館
岡山神社
日本の岡山市にある神社
後楽園
岡山県岡山市北区にある庭園
Origins and History of Kibitsuhiko Shrine’s Otaue Festival
The Otaue Festival is said to have continued since the Kamakura period as a Shinto ceremony praying for abundant harvests. A picture scroll from the Kōei era also depicts scenes such as the Ohata Dedication Festival.
There was a period in the medieval era when the festival could not be held because the shrine buildings had been destroyed by fire. After the buildings were restored by the Ukita, Kobayakawa, and Ikeda families, the Ikeda family revived the festival rites.
Since the Meiji era, the dates have been changed from the old lunar calendar to August 2 and the 3rd.
Official information
Official information is available on the Kibitsuhiko Shrine website.
For festival inquiries, contact the Kibitsuhiko Shrine office (telephone: 086-284-0031).
Kibitsuhiko Shrine’s Otaue Festival at a Glance
Kibitsuhiko Shrine’s Otaue Festival is a traditional Shinto ceremony held on August 2 and the 3rd, praying for abundant harvests and the well-being of the community.
Highlights include the Otoyo Ceremony, in which seedlings are offered, and the procession of ohata banners joined by taiko lion dancers and parishioners.
The 2026 event was listed as taking place from August 2 through the 3rd, at Kibitsuhiko Shrine in Kita-ku, Okayama City.
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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