Aizen Matsuri 2026 | Dates, the Hoekago Palanquin Parade & the 2027 Outlook
Osaka's Aizen Matsuri (fixed every Jun 30–Jul 2) just wrapped its 2026 run — here's what happened, and the reliable placeholder for 2027.
When · Where
- When
- 2027/06/30 01:00 – 2027/07/02
- Where
- Aizendo Shomanin (Shitennoji sub-temple)（5-36 Yuhigaoka-cho, Tennoji-ku, Osaka 543-0075）
- City
- Osaka
- Getting there
- 2 min walk from Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line, Shitennoji-mae Yuhigaoka Station.
- Price
- Free
- Organizer
- Aizendo Shomanin (愛染堂勝鬘院)
Good to know for visitors
- Getting there
- 2 min walk from Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line, Shitennoji-mae Yuhigaoka Station. Open directions in Google Maps ↗
- Booking & entry
- Free to attend — details on the official page (button above).
- Language
- Mostly in Japanese — a translation app on your phone helps.
- Good for
- culture seekers, families
Highlights
- Eight 'Aizen musume' (Aizen girls) parade from Tennoji Park's Tenshiba lawn to the temple in seven red-and-white 'hoekago' palanquins (2026: departed noon on Jun 30)
- First of Osaka's 'three great summer festivals' — the local saying goes 'summer begins with Aizen-san and ends with Sumiyoshi-san'
- A rare, 3-day-only public viewing of the temple's principal images, Aizen Myo-o and the Tahoto pagoda's Dainichi Dai-shokongo-son
Background & story
Founded some 1,400 years ago at Shomanin, a Shitennoji sub-temple built by Prince Shotoku, Aizen Matsuri opens Osaka's summer festival season — hence the saying 'Osaka's summer begins with Aizen-san and ends with Sumiyoshi-san' (the last of the three, after Tenjin Matsuri).
Good to know
These are the festival's fixed calendar dates (Jun 30–Jul 2) every year — the 2026 edition ran on these exact dates and had already concluded as of this writing (early Jul 2026). Treat Jun 30–Jul 2, 2027 as a reliable placeholder until Aizendo's official spring announcement confirms it.