A festival of samurai processions, dance, and dashi bringing color to the castle town
Maruoka Kojo Festival
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Season / frequency
- Every October / Every year
- Location
- Around Maruoka Castle
- Area
- Fukui Prefecture・Sakai City(From Tokyo: approx. 2 h 50 min–3 h 20 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
- Participation / viewing
- Open to public participation / spectators welcome
- Last updated
- 2026/10/19
This Sakai City festival features a samurai procession, a mass dance, and a karakuri puppet procession around Maruoka Castle. Residents express the town’s appeal through dance and music while carrying on its history and traditions.
About Maruoka Kojo Festival
The Maruoka Kojo Festival is a local celebration held around Maruoka Castle to pass on Sakai City’s history and traditions to the next generation.
It is held with the aim of involving all residents, fostering community ties, and contributing to local development that reflects the area’s distinctive character.
The main events are a samurai procession, a mass dance, and a karakuri puppet dashi procession, alongside stalls and wind band performances.
It is a festival where visitors can experience the history of the castle town through processions, dance, and music.
Source: 福井県坂井市／丸岡古城まつり
Festival highlights
The highlight is a samurai procession featuring warriors portraying 17 successive castle lords, wearing handmade armor and helmets and proceeding alongside karakuri puppet dashi and other floats.
A local group provides music for the procession of 150 people, and each group performs at the end.
Approximately 1,400 people fill the roads for the mass dance, dancing along to Maruoka Ondo and Banba Odori.
A festival of samurai processions, dance, and dashi bringing color to the castle town
What to expect
The festival features events such as stalls at the Oja-re Market, a candy toss, and a wind band performance.
The main samurai procession sees participants dressed as warriors and dashi parading around Maruoka Castle, with each group performing on the main stage at the end of the procession.
In another part of the festival, residents take part in a mass dance to music.
In the karakuri puppet dashi procession, adults pull the dashi while elementary school students play festival music on drums and other instruments.
How to take part
Anyone who has come to the festival can join the group dance.
Participants dance along the roads around the main venue to the music of the Maruoka Ondo and Banba Odori.
The available information does not specify the conditions for general visitors to join the samurai procession or dashi parade.
If you would like to take part, it may be best to focus on joining the group dance.
Location and access
- Venue and address
Around Maruoka Castle (Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture).
Event venue 福井県坂井市 丸岡城
This map uses the venue name. Check the official guide for the event area and entrances.
Dates and season
The event is announced for October in 2026 around Maruoka Castle.
A samurai procession, a mass dance, and a karakuri puppet dashi procession are planned as the main events, along with stalls and stage events.
Source: 福井県坂井市／観光・文化・スポーツ
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 Fukui Prefecture / Sakai City (the search is not centered on the festival venue)
Nearby attractions
一筆啓上 日本一短い手紙の館
福井県坂井市にある博物館
三國神社
福井県坂井市にある神社
写真：藤谷良秀(Fujitani Yoshihide) / CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo source ·
國神神社
坂井市にある神社
坂井市龍翔博物館
福井県坂井市にある博物館
福井県児童科学館
福井県坂井市にある文化施設
福井県総合グリーンセンター
福井県の公園・庭園のスポットです。
越前松島水族館
福井県坂井市にある水族館
越前竹人形の里
福井県坂井市にある博物館
写真：藤谷良秀(Fujitani Yoshihide) / CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo source ·
雄島灯台
福井県坂井市にある灯台
Origins and History of Maruoka Kojo Festival
The Maruoka Kojo Festival had reached its 48th edition by 2016 at the latest, and has been held continuously.
The festival aims to pass on Sakai City’s history and traditions to future generations, foster friendship among residents, and promote community development that makes use of the area’s distinctive character.
Today, the festival expresses the character of Maruoka as a castle town through a samurai procession, a mass dance, and a karakuri puppet dashi procession.
Source: 丸岡古城まつり - Wikipedia
Official information
The Sakai City official website’s “Maruoka Kojo Festival” page provides information about the festival’s aims, samurai procession, mass dance, and karakuri puppet dashi procession.
The 2026 event announcement is also posted on Sakai City’s Tourism, Culture and Sports page.
Maruoka Kojo Festival at a Glance
The Maruoka Kojo Festival is a Sakai City festival where visitors can enjoy a samurai procession, a mass dance, and a karakuri puppet dashi procession around Maruoka Castle.
Highlights include a procession of warriors wearing handmade armor and helmets, drum performances, and a mass dance with approximately 1,400 participants.
The event is announced for October in 2026, and anyone attending the festival can join the mass dance.
Japanese Festivals.jp Editorial Team
Celebrating local culture and helping you discover a side of Japan you never knew.
Article updated: 2026/10/19
Submit information or a correction Submit photos of this festival
