Yamakura Salmon Festival
December 6, 2026
The Hatsuo Festival, held separately at Yamakura Shrine and Kanpukuji Temple, is also known as the Salmon Festival due to the offering of salmon. At Yamakura Shrine, the salmon are dedicated as offerings to the Dragon Palace. On the day before the festival (now observed on the first Sunday of December), the offered salmon are ceremonially cut into small pieces in the Shirakawa-style knife ritual. On the festival day, these salmon pieces are distributed to visitors as protective amulets. These amulets are highly valued for their symbolic power to 'ward off misfortune' and, along with blackened salmon amulets kept regularly, are known for preventing illness, especially as a remedy for colds.
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