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The first day of Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival

Name: The first day of Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival
Start: 2026-05-14T00:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-05-14
Location: Japan

The first day of Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival is held on May 14. 出雲大社. This event in the second decade of the month May is annual.

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14 May - The first day of Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival

Izumo Taisha is located in the city of Izumo in Shimane Prefecture, a one hour train ride west of Matsue. It is one of Japan's most important shrines. There are no records of exactly when Izumo Taisha was built, but it is often considered the oldest shrine in Japan, being already in existence in the early 700s as revealed by the nation's oldest chronicles.

On the east and west sides of the shrine precincts are two, long, wooden buildings, called Jukusha, believed to house the Shinto pantheon of around 8 million kami. These deities are thought to return to the shrine in October, which is called kannazuki (month without gods) in the rest of Japan and kamiarizuki (month with gods) in Shimane.

Izumo Taisha's main festival is thus from the 11-17th day of the 10th lunar month, the Kamiari Festival, when the gods return. This usually falls in November. Other important festivals are the Imperial Festival on May 14, followed by the Grand Festival on May 14 and 15.

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