Story Enjoy a fantastic mid-summer night! The interplay of light and darkness at the southern tip of Kyushu By JNTO on 01 June 2017

Do you know a summer festival uniquely developed in Kagoshima Prefecture?
Night festivals called “Rokugatsu-do (Lantern Festival)” are held every year in July, with garden lanterns decorated with various pictures or characters being dedicated to local temples and shrines all over the prefecture by local people and companies.
Rokugatsu-do is thought to have taken on its current form based on local customs and historical facts, including an old custom in which people offered lanterns to temples and shrines as a means of prevention of domestic animal diseases and extermination of crop-damaging harmful insects. Local feudal lords, who controlled Kagoshima for about 700 years, also used to illuminate the streets by lanterns in June on the lunar calendar that now falls in July on today’s calendar.
Among these festivals, the biggest Rokugatsu-do in the prefecture is the one at Terukuni-jinja Shrine, which is held on July 15 and 16 every year and attracts some 300,000 people. More than 1,000 colorful lanterns are displayed in the precincts and the front approach of the shrine is lined with various stalls. A bowl of flavored shaved ice called “Yanagawa Himuro” is highly recommended. If you want to see the entire festival from a higher vantage point, go to Shiroyama Park. You can enjoy a fantastic mid-summer night scene from its observatory.

Terukuni-jinja Shrine Rokugatsu-do Lantern Festival

Address

19-35 Terukuni-cho, Kagoshima City (Terukuni-jinja Shrine)

Website

http://www.kagoshima-kankou.com/for/events/50798

Phone

099-222-1820