Zengan Mushio-kuri

Festival highlights

The highlight is the procession of people carrying five-colored flags and a Jizo statue believed to ward off insects as they make their way around the community.

During the procession, people walk to the beat of taiko, chanting “Mushi mushi okure~,” then send strips of paper bearing prayers for “the driving away of poisonous insects” and five-colored flags down the river from the bridge.

A yamabushi’s conch shell and prayers are part of the event, followed by fire-walking after the sacred fire has gone out.

You can see in detail how spoken prayers, sounds, a procession, the river, and fire are woven together.

Source: 「善願の虫送り」をご存じですか？ | 【公式】五泉市観光協会‐ 新潟県五泉市の観光・旅行サイト

Akami District’s mushio-kuri: entrusting prayers to five-colored flags and fire-walking

What to expect

The event begins with prayers by a yamabushi. People carrying a Jizo statue believed to ward off insects and people holding five-colored flags make their way around the community.

According to records from the Gosen City Tourism Association, adults and children alike carried bamboo branches decorated with five-colored strips of paper and walked for about 40 minutes to the beat of taiko and spoken chants.

At the bridge, sacred sake is poured over the Jizo statue, and strips of paper bearing prayers to drive away poisonous insects are sent down the river.

After returning, participants recite the kuji and proceed to fire-walking.

Location and access

Venue and address

Zengan Community Center / Akami district, Gosen City

Event venue 新潟県五泉市 善願コミュニティーセンター

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

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Dates and season

2026 event information (the listed date has passed)

According to the 2026 event notice, it was scheduled to take place at Zengan Community Center from 3 p.m. on June 21 (Sunday).

The event continues with prayers, a procession through the community, the sending of five-colored flags down the river, and fire-walking.

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Origins and History of Zengan Mushio-kuri

Zengan Mushio-kuri began as an event praying for poisonous insects to be driven away, against a backdrop of fear of scrub typhus, a disease endemic to the region.

In the past, similar events were held in many places, with small shrines, stone monuments, and Jizo statues, to pray for health and protection from illness. Zengan is introduced as a mushio-kuri event that is still held today.

A 2025 mayor’s column describes it as an event that passes down vigilance against disease and the lessons of past generations through the custom of carrying a Jizo statue believed to ward off insects and sending five-colored flags down the river.

In 2015, it was designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Gosen City.

Source: 市長コラム「ごせん歳時記」（広報ごせんより）／五泉市公式ホームページ

Official information

The Gosen City official website’s “Zengan Mushio-kuri” information includes its cultural property designation, the event’s sequence, and the 2026 event notice.

Zengan Mushio-kuri at a Glance

Zengan Mushio-kuri is an event designated as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property and continued in the Akami district of Gosen City.

Prayers to drive away poisonous insects, born of fear of scrub typhus, are conveyed through a yamabushi’s prayers, a procession carrying a Jizo statue believed to ward off insects, taiko and spoken chants, the sending of five-colored flags down the river, and fire-walking.

A notice stated that the 2026 event would take place at Zengan Community Center from 3 p.m. on June 21.