5 Cultural Events in Osaka That You Shouldn't Miss

The first festival of Ebisu, it takes place around January 10th and is intended to pray for prosperity in business. In the case of Imamiya Ebisu Shrine in Osaka it is held on January 9th to 11th, and is famous for the lucky charm known as Fukuzasa. The small charms you attach to the Fukuzasa are also known as kiccho and include koban coins, sea bream, straw rice bags, eboshi (headgear worn by nobles), and mallets. Also drawing big crowds is the "Hoekago Parade," in which geishas and famous entertainers ride in "hoekago" (palanquins) along with the shout of "Hoekago-hoekago, Eraiyatcha-eraiyatcha."

This festival is held at Tenmangu shrines all over Japan, and most shrines hold the festival some time around the 25th to coincide with anniversary of the death of Sugawara no Michizane, to whom the they are dedicated. The Tenjin Matsuri at Osaka Tenmangu Shrine is particularly famous, and it is counted among the three great festivals in Japan (the other two are Kyoto's Gion Matsuri and Tokyo's Kanda Matsuri). Though it has been cancelled or postponed due to plagues and wars any number of times, it has been carried on for more than 1,000 years since 951 (the middle of the Heian period), and in modern times it is still held every year on July 24th (festival-eve vigil) and 25th (at the main shrine). The nighttime ritual at the main shrine, called the Festival of Fire and Water is a particular favorite of locals, with a procession of boats decorated with illuminated paper lanterns along the Okawa River (formerly the Yodogawa River) and a dedicatory fireworks display.

The Sumiyoshi Matsuri, also called "Oharai," is a festival centered around one of the main regular festivals at Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine which is held on Marine Day in July, and begins with the Mikoshi Arai Shinji ritual, in which the Sumiyoshi Taisha portable shrine is purified with seawater gathered by a boat called a "shiokumibune." Following the Yoiyamisai festival on July 30th and the main regular festival on the 31st, the Nagoshi Harai purification ritual is performed, in which finely dressed women and children pass through a ring of woven grass. After the Oharai ceremony, the general public is allowed to join in passing through the grass ring. On August 1st, finally the spirit enshrined at Sumiyoshi Taisha is carried to Shukuin Tongu Shrine in Sakai in the portable shrine by a procession, which is called "Mikoshi Togyo." In 2005, the custom of making the procession of foot was revived after a period of 45 years.

Abeno Tennoji Illuminage is a festival of light first held in 2012 to support reconstruction projects following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Since that time, it is held for three months from November to January with a unique theme every year (for example, in 2015-2016 it is the "Illumination ZOO" to mark the 100th anniversary of Tennoji Zoo). The venue is Tennoji Park, a vast urban park home to Tennoji Zoo and Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, and there are a lot of tourist attractions in the surrounding area.