Emikae Ten-Touro Festival 2026: 500-Year Lantern Tradition
Kyushu-Okinawa · NagasakiFestival
A lantern tower 25 metres tall carrying 3,500 lights, and children dousing a wooden Jizo with river water — northern Nagasaki’s biggest summer festival runs 23 to 24 August 2026.
Overview
Emukae Sentoro Matsuri (江迎千灯籠まつり) has roughly five hundred years of history and is the largest summer festival in northern Nagasaki Prefecture. Emukae was an independent town until it merged into Sasebo City in 2010, and the festival retains a strong local character.
Two traditions run in parallel. The sentoro — “thousand lanterns” — is a spectacle of light: a lantern tower described by Nagasaki Prefecture as the tallest in Japan, plus close to 10,000 lanterns lit through the streets. The Mizukake Jizo Matsuri, held on the same days, is a Sasebo City-designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property and a much wetter affair.
When and Where
Dates: 23–24 August 2026. The lantern tower and street lanterns are lit from 22 August, a day before the festival proper.
Hours: officially confirmed only for the fireworks, 21:05–21:30 on both nights. Commercial listings give roughly 13:00–21:30 with illumination 19:00–23:00, but this is not confirmed by the city.
Venue: Omatsuri Hiroba at Emukae Chuo Park (320 Nagasaka, Emukae-cho, Sasebo City) for the lantern tower; fireworks over the Emukae River.
Getting There
The easiest approach is the Matsuura Railway to Emukae-Shikamachi Station, about three minutes on foot from the venue. Alternatively, take a Hirado-bound bus from in front of JR Sasebo Station — roughly an hour — and alight at Emukae Bus Center, which is immediately adjacent.
By car it is about twenty minutes from Sasa IC on the Nishi-Kyushu Expressway, but Sasebo City explicitly asks visitors to use public transport: the eight official car parks hold only around 1,010 vehicles. Nagasaki Prefectural Police publish traffic-restriction and detour notices for the festival period.
What to Expect
The lantern tower stands about 25 metres tall and carries roughly 3,500 lanterns. After dusk, close to 10,000 more are lit along the streets of the Emukae district. Around 2,000 fireworks are launched across the two nights, fired between 21:05 and 21:30 over the Emukae River.
The Mizukake Jizo Matsuri is the older rite. Children carry a wooden Jizo statue down to the Karekawa river and douse it with water, then parade a mikoshi through town while onlookers throw water from ladles and buckets, praying for freedom from illness. Tradition holds that the custom began when an epidemic subsided after children bathed the Jizo in the river. Expect to get wet if you stand near the route.
Tickets and Admission
Free. Most car parks are free, though the FlightPilot lot and the former Shikamachi Clinic site charge.
Tips for Visitors
Come on 22 August for the lanterns alone. The tower and street lanterns are lit a day before the festival opens, so you can see the illumination without the festival-day crowds.
Take the Matsuura Railway. Emukae-Shikamachi Station is three minutes from the site and parking is genuinely tight.
Dress for water near the Jizo procession. Water-throwing is the point of the rite, not an accident — keep cameras and phones protected.
Access and Map
| Dates | 23–24 August 2026 (lanterns lit from 22 August) |
|---|---|
| Hours | Fireworks 21:05–21:30 both nights; full programme times not officially published |
| Venue | Emukae Chuo Park Omatsuri Hiroba, Emukae-cho, Sasebo City, Nagasaki |
| Access | Matsuura Railway to Emukae-Shikamachi Station, approx. 3 min walk; or bus from JR Sasebo Station to Emukae Bus Center, approx. 1 hr |
| Admission | Free |
| Official site | Sasebo City |
Source: Sasebo City official website
Also: Nagasaki Tabinet, Nagasaki Prefecture Tourism Federation
Image: Photo: Atsasebo / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
