Maniwa Amazake Festival

The Maniwa Amazake Festival, passed down through generations in Komori, Ryokami, Ogano, is an event in which barley amazake is offered to Yasaka Shrine to pray for the community’s health and freedom from illness. The village tradition lives on in the amazake barrel mikoshi and the shared work of preparing the amazake.

About Maniwa Amazake Festival

The Maniwa Amazake Festival is a festival offering barley amazake that has been passed down in Maniwa, Komori, Ryokami, Ogano, Saitama Prefecture.

Amazake is offered at the village’s Yasaka Shrine to pray for the community’s health and freedom from illness.

Amazake-making involves several households sharing different tasks, from gathering barley and making koji to preparing barley porridge.

Residents support preparations and the rites, making this an opportunity to reaffirm community ties.

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Festival highlights

The highlight is the “amazake barrel mikoshi,” a large wooden barrel filled with barley amazake that is carried.

Raising their voices in unison, 4 men carry the barrel in procession in front of the sanctuary at Yasaka Shrine.

A ceremony led by the chief priest and a tamagushi offering follow, and amazake is then served to visitors.

Because the amazake is not heat-treated, it continues to ferment, so its sweetness and acidity change over time.

A summer in Ogano and the community’s hopes, brought together by a barley amazake barrel mikoshi

What to expect

In preparation for the festival, village households share tasks such as preparing pressed barley, koji, and barley for fermentation.

On the day of the festival, the amazake barrel mikoshi sets out from the Maniwa Community Hall and carries amazake to the sanctuary at Yasaka Shrine as an offering.

This is followed by a ceremony led by the chief priest and tamagushi offerings by those involved. Amazake, food, and drinks are served to visitors.

Amazake continues to ferment over time, so its flavor varies depending on when you visit.

How to take part

The festival is run mainly by village residents, but amazake is served to visitors, who can also enjoy food and drinks at the community hall.

It is reported that people who come to watch the festival sometimes help with preparations and operations.

No information is provided on whether general visitors can take part in festival rites, such as carrying the amazake barrel mikoshi.

Location and access

Venue and address

Maniwa Community Hall (starting point) and the sanctuary at Yasaka Shrine (venue for the rites).

The location is in Maniwa, Komori, Ryokami, Ogano, Chichibu District, Saitama Prefecture.

Address Maniwa, Komori, Ryokami, Ogano, Chichibu District, Saitama Prefecture

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Dates and season

Season: Every year on the 3rd Sunday of July
Frequency: Every year

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Tips for your visit

The barley amazake offered at the festival is not heat-treated, so it continues to ferment over time and its flavor changes.

Visitors are advised that fermentation may cause the bag to swell if they take amazake home, and to let out a suitable amount of air when storing it.

Amazake, food, and drinks are offered as part of the community’s hospitality, so please be considerate of residents and the proceedings of the rites while at the venue.

Origins and History of Maniwa Amazake Festival

The Maniwa Amazake Festival is said to date back approximately 400 years.

It is said that when an epidemic struck the area, villagers offered amazake to Yasaka Shrine and the illness subsided; since then, offering amazake has become a custom.

The festival was temporarily discontinued toward the end of World War II due to a lack of labor and food, and resumed after the war.

The festival was suspended from 2019 due to factors such as voluntary restraint and a lack of people to help, and was held again in 2025 for the first time in 6 years.