A Toga Little New Year event that brings good fortune with drums and a horse dance
Toga Hatsu-uma Event
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Season / frequency
- Every year on January 15 / Every year
- Location
- Each household in Nanto City (former Toga Village)
- Area
- Toyama Prefecture・Nanto City(From Tokyo: approx. 2 h 10 min–2 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
- Age restrictions
- The event is carried out by boys and girls in grades 1–6 of elementary school
- Required number of participants
- A group of around 10 elementary school students
- Last updated
- 2026/10/19
A Little New Year event in Toga, Nanto City, where children visit households while beating drums and bring good fortune through prayers, a horse dance, and rolling rice bales.
About Toga Hatsu-uma Event
The Toga Hatsu-uma Event is a regionally distinctive auspicious rite held during the Little New Year period around January 15.
Children visit homes throughout the village and perform blessing dances, including prayers, a horse dance, and rolling rice bales.
It has been selected by the national government as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property for which measures such as documentation should be undertaken.
Source: 富山県／記録作成等の措置を講ずべき無形の民俗文化財 / 国指定文化財等データベース
Festival highlights
One highlight is seeing the children, dressed for their respective roles, visit households while beating drums.
On entering a home, they recite a prayer in front of the main pillar, and the horse dances to a song praising silkworms.
Next, they toss in small rice bales and perform a blessing dance in which they draw a bale of good fortune toward them.
A Toga Little New Year event that brings good fortune with drums and a horse dance
What to expect
For the event, roles are assigned at the Hatsu-uma host house, including a priest, a horse, rice-bale rollers, drummers, and singers.
The children change into costumes appropriate to their roles and visit each household accompanied by drums and songs.
They recite a norito prayer in front of the household’s main pillar and perform blessing dances, including a horse dance and rolling rice bales.
How to take part
対象年齢：行事の担い手は小学校1～6年生の男女
必要人数：10人程の小学生の一団
Location and access
- Venue and address
Homes in Nanto City (former Toga Village)
Event venue 富山県南砺市 南砺市の各家
This map uses the venue name. Check the official guide for the event area and entrances.
Dates and season
- Season
Every year on January 15
- 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 Toyama Prefecture / Nanto City (the search is not centered on the festival venue)
Nearby attractions
南砺市立福光美術館
日本の富山県南砺市にある公立美術館
福野文化創造センターヘリオス
富山県南砺市の博物館・美術館のスポットです。
高瀬神社
富山県南砺市高瀬にある神社
Origins and History of Toga Hatsu-uma Event
Hatsu-uma has been passed down as a type of auspicious rite intended to bring blessings: the Toshigami deity visits around January 15, bringing blessings to people and wishes for abundant harvests and fertility.
In Toga, the event has a distinctive local style in which children visit each household and offer blessings.
On December 21, 1982, it was selected by the national government as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property for which measures such as documentation should be undertaken.
Official information
You can find an overview and description of the “Toga Hatsu-uma Event” in the Database of Nationally Designated Cultural Properties.
Toyama Prefecture’s cultural property guide describes the event’s content and the subjects of its prayers as an event passed down in the former village of Toga.
Toga Hatsu-uma Event at a Glance
Every year on January 15, children visit households to bring blessings through drums, songs, a horse dance, and rolling rice bales as part of the Toga Hatsu-uma Event, a Little New Year celebration.
Its distinctive features are that elementary school students take on different roles and visit homes throughout the community.
This event, selected for the national government’s documentation program, conveys the folk culture of Nanto City.
Source: 利賀のはつうま行事 | 文化遺産検索 | とやまの文化遺産
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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