Shogatsuyo 2026 | Dates & Access | Japanese Festivals Events

Shogatsuyo is a custom in the Tago district of decorating salted bonito with a straw ornament and offering it at the household altar for New Year. Prayers for safe voyages, abundant catches and harvests, and prosperity for future generations are intertwined with its role as a winter-preserved food.

About Shogatsuyo

Shogatsuyo is a salted-bonito custom passed down in the Tago district of Nishiizu Town.

Salted bonito is decorated with a straw ornament and offered at the household altar for New Year, with prayers for safe voyages, abundant catches and harvests, and prosperity for future generations.

After the first 3 days of the New Year, it is taken down from the household altar and shared with those involved or eaten at home as preserved food.

Festival highlights

A highlight is this distinctive New Year arrangement in Tago: salted bonito decorated with a straw ornament and offered at the household altar.

Although it is an offering for the New Year, after the first 3 days it is shared with others or kept as preserved food, showing how prayers are connected to everyday eating.

It is said that the Tago district is the only place in Japan where Shogatsuyo is still produced.

Tago’s traditional Shogatsuyo: linking prayers and preserved food

What to expect

To welcome the New Year, salted bonito is decorated with a straw ornament and offered at the household altar.

After the first 3 days of the New Year, it is taken down from the household altar and shared with those involved; families also eat it as preserved food.

It was also sometimes used by sailors from the Tago district as an item in their employment contracts at the start of the year.

Location and access

Venue and address: Tago area, Nishiizu Town

Event venue 静岡県西伊豆町西伊豆町田子地区

This map uses the venue name. Check the official guide for the event area and entrances.

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Dates and season

Scheduled to take place from December 1, 2026 to December 31.

Accommodation and hotels PR

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Origins and History of Shogatsuyo

In the Tago district, where bonito fishing once flourished, Shogatsuyo has long been made as winter-preserved food.

This custom of decorating salted bonito with a straw ornament and offering it at New Year has been passed down, and after the first 3 days of the New Year it is eaten as food again.

In the past, it was also used as an item in the New Year employment contracts of sailors from the Tago district, and has long been tied to local work and daily life.

Official information

The Nishiizu Town Office lists “salted bonito” in its event information.

Shogatsuyo at a Glance

Shogatsuyo is a custom in the Tago district of Nishiizu Town of decorating salted bonito with a straw ornament and offering it at the household altar for New Year.

It expresses wishes for safe voyages, abundant catches and harvests, and prosperity for future generations. After the first 3 days of the New Year, it is shared with others or kept as preserved food.

It is a culture rooted in Tago’s way of life and work, having also served as winter-preserved food and an item in sailors’ employment contracts.

Sources and references