A dedication festival passed down in Ryumai, with flower-decorated manto brightening the streets
Ryumai Kamo Shrine Manto Festival
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Season / frequency
- Held annually around the second Sunday of April / Every year
- Location
- Around Kamo Shrine
- Area
- Gunma Prefecture・Ota City(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.
- Highlights and activities
- Wishes behind the festival
- Last updated
- 2026/11/13
This festival carries on the tradition of making manto locally, dedicating them to Kamo Shrine, and carrying and swinging them around in the street in an act called furikomi.
About Ryumai Kamo Shrine Manto Festival
The Ryumai Kamo Shrine Manto Festival is a festival in which each kochi in Tatsumai-cho makes a manto and dedicates it to Kamo Shrine.
The manto are carried and swung around in the and on the street to the south in an act called furikomi.
The festival has continued as an event to pray for good harvests, safety within the village, and increased cocoon production. There is also a tradition of placing hana-higo flower decorations at home entrances after the dedication.
Today, the Ryumai Manto Preservation Association preserves and passes on the tradition.
Festival highlights
A highlight is furikomi, in which large and small manto line the street and are swung around by their bearers.
The grand manto is 3 m tall and weighs approximately 60 kg, while the smaller manto is 2.3 m tall and weighs approximately 15 kg, making it possible to compare their different sizes.
Flower decorations modeled on the Jomo Three Mountains, figures dressed in traditional attire, and bamboo strips hanging around the sides make up the manto; their appearance lined up along the street is said to be spectacular.
A dedication festival passed down in Ryumai, with flower-decorated manto brightening the streets
What to expect
For the festival, each kochi in Tatsumai-cho makes a manto and dedicates it to Kamo Shrine.
The dedicated manto are carried and swung around in the shrine grounds and on the street to the south; this act is called furikomi.
The manto incorporate flower decorations, figures, lanterns, and long bamboo strips, which help balance the overall structure.
After the dedication, hana-higo flower decorations are placed at home entrances and other locations.
Location and access
- Venue and address
Kamo Shrine (3859 Tatsumai-cho, Ota City)
Address 3859 Tatsumai-cho, Ota City
Dates and season
- Season
Held annually around the second Sunday of April
- Frequency
Every year
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 / Ota City (the search is not centered on the festival venue)
Nearby attractions
ぐんまこどもの国
群馬県太田市にある公園
三日月村
群馬県太田市にある歴史のテーマパーク
世良田東照宮
群馬県太田市にある神社
冠稲荷神社
群馬県太田市細谷町にある神社
写真：photo: Qurren ( talk ) Taken with Canon PowerShot G9 X / CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo source ·
新田金山城
群馬県太田市にあった城
Origins and History of Ryumai Kamo Shrine Manto Festival
According to local tradition, the Manto Festival began during the Tenpo famine, when a wanderer who had come from the Kyoto area learned that a branch spirit from Kyoto’s Kamo Shrine had been enshrined there. The wanderer then asked villagers to dedicate in Ryumai the manto that had been offered in Kyoto.
The dedication is said to have begun in Tenpo 8 (1837).
The festival was suspended for a time, but according to Ota City records, it resumed in Showa 46.
Official information
The Cultural Properties Division page on Ota City’s website provides information on the festival’s origins, the construction of the manto, when it is held, and the venue address.
The Ota City Tourism Association’s cultural property guide also lists the Ryumai Kamo Shrine Manto Festival as a prefecturally designated cultural property.
Ryumai Kamo Shrine Manto Festival at a Glance
The Ryumai Kamo Shrine Manto Festival is an event in which locally made manto are dedicated to the shrine and swung around in the streets in a ritual called furikomi.
Highlights include the striking sight of a 3 m-tall, approximately 60 kg grand manto alongside several smaller ones, as well as flower decorations representing the Jomo Three Mountains and the bamboo-strip construction.
The festival is said to have begun in Tenpo 8 (1837) and has been passed down alongside prayers for good harvests, safety within the village, and other hopes.
Japanese Festivals.jp Editorial Team
Celebrating local culture and helping you discover a side of Japan you never knew.
Article updated: 2026/11/13
