Festival · Osaka
Tenjin Matsuri
天神祭
Tenjin Matsuri is Osaka Tenmangu shrine's summer festival and one of Japan's three great festivals, held since 951 in honour of Sugawara no Michizane, god of learning. It fills 24–25 July with drums, lion dances and processions.
On the 25th, a costumed land procession leaves the shrine in the afternoon. In the evening about 100 boats lit by lanterns and bonfires carry the portable shrines along the Okawa River, and fireworks burst overhead.
What to see and do
Afternoon of 25 July: floats, portable shrines and costumed figures leave the shrine.
From early evening about 100 boats sail the Okawa River.
About 3,000 fireworks over the river on the evening of 25 July.
Stalls line the streets around the shrine.
What’s on
Good to know
- Arrive on the riverside at least an hour early for a spot.
- Paid seats sell out; book early if you want one.
More art nearby
Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
A giant black cube that opened in 2022. Modern and contemporary art and design by the river.
National Museum of Art, Osaka
Almost entirely underground, entered through a sculpture of silver steel tubes. Contemporary art from Japan and abroad.
掬茶 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsMuseum of Oriental Ceramics
One of the world’s great collections of Korean and Chinese ceramics, on the island of Nakanoshima.
＋－ · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsTenma Tenjin Hanjotei
A theatre just for rakugo, Japanese sit-down storytelling. One performer, a fan and a cloth play every role.