Mt. Shinobu Dawn Procession

The Shinobu Dawn Procession (Shinobu Sanzan Akatsuki Mairi) is a historic winter festival held annually in Fukushima City, with a history spanning over 400 years since the Edo period. The festival originated from a tradition at Haguro Shrine on Shinobu Mountain, where a giant straw sandal (ōwaraji) was crafted and offered to the guardian statues of the temple to match the size of their feet.

The festival is held to pray for abundant harvests, family safety, and physical well-being, and it is also associated with strengthening the legs and feet. Additionally, Haguro Shrine is considered a shrine for matchmaking, with a local belief that visiting three years consecutively may lead to love. In recent years, prayers for traffic safety and success in examinations have also become popular.

The centrepiece of the festival is the giant straw sandal, which measures 12 meters in length and 1.4 meters in width, making it the largest in Japan. During the procession, approximately 80 volunteer carriers lift and carry the sandal from a downtown plaza through the city streets to Haguro Shrine, covering a distance of about 3.3 kilometers. Before the procession, the sandal is displayed publicly, and the event begins with an official departure ceremony. The procession concludes with the sandal’s dedication at the shrine.

Alongside the main procession, the festival also hosts the “Fuku-Otoko Fuku-Onna” race, now in its 12th year, where participants run from the Taishido Plaza up the old shrine path to Haguro Shrine, a distance of 1.3 kilometres. The race is open to all ages and genders, with up to 500 participants, and combines sport with the traditional spirit of the festival.

The visitors are encouraged to attend during daylight hours as the shrine path is not illuminated. The Shinobu Mountains Dawn Procession remains one of Fukushima’s most visually impressive and culturally significant winter events, drawing both locals and tourists to experience its centuries-old traditions.