Starting tomorrow, Friday, November 6, the area around Higashi Honganji temple, right in front of Kyoto Station, turns to Brazilian sounds and rhythms for three days. “Matsuri Crossing KYOTO × BRASIL” is an international exchange event where Japanese and Brazilian cultures meet, held at the temple’s “Ohigashi-san Plaza” and its grounds. It is the first year of a three-year effort leading up to 2028, the 120th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Brazil.
Three days linking Higashi Honganji and Brazil
The venue has deep ties to Brazil. The temple’s head priest (monshu), 大谷暢裕, moved to Brazil at the age of one and spent about 60 years there; he holds Brazilian nationality. The aim of the event is to let visitors feel a two-way flow of culture: traditions that went from Japan to Brazil, grew in their own way there, and now meet again in Kyoto.
Through music, dance, food and art, the organizers hope to create a place where locals, travelers and foreign residents of Japan can gather naturally. Given the location by Kyoto Station, it looks easy to drop in between sightseeing stops.
Evening concerts in the temple grounds with Nanase Aikawa and Brazilian artists
The main draw is the ticketed stage in the temple grounds on the evenings of Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8.
Nanase Aikawa’s hits, including “Yumemiru Shojo ja Irarenai”, have long been loved in Brazil as songs for “Matsuri Dance”. In 2025 she was named a Japan–Brazil Friendship Goodwill Ambassador and performed at a Matsuri Dance festival in the state of São Paulo. This year is her 30th debut anniversary, and she takes the stage right after the final show of her anniversary tour at Nippon Budokan. November 8 is also the release anniversary of her debut single.
The four-member vocal and rap group WOLF HOWL HARMONY also performs. Member GHEE has Brazilian roots, and the group made its first appearance at “Anime Friends 2026” in São Paulo in July. It is currently on a 12-city national tour, and will step onto the Kyoto stage in the middle of it.
From Brazil comes Nailson Vieira TRIO. Nailson Vieira is from the state of Pernambuco; he carries on Maracatu Rural, a folk art nurtured by sugar-cane workers, and conveys it to the world in contemporary music. There is also a time when the whole venue dances together in “Matsuri Dance with Nanase Aikawa”.
Matsuri Dance grew out of the bon odori dances that Japanese emigrants carried to Brazil and kept dancing, blending with local culture. It should be a night to experience Japanese culture coming home across the ocean.
Free stages, a parade and hands-on booths
At Ohigashi-san Plaza, artists based mainly in Kyoto and Kansai perform on free stages. You can hear and see music and dance from around Brazil — samba, forró, capoeira — as well as Goshu Ondo, a folk dance song from Shiga. Many performers have Kansai ties, such as the Nara-based Brazilian band JAPAXÉLADA and the Kyoto percussion group ILHA DAS TARTARUGAS.
There are also ways to join in: the participatory music booth “EN RODA”, where you sit around a round table to listen, play, sing and dance; “Matsuri Dance Time” held from time to time; food booths; and workshops.
On the morning of Saturday, November 7, a parade runs from Kyoto Station to Higashi Honganji. Brazilian percussion bands, the Otani Junior & Senior High School brass band, samba groups and others will fill the roughly 400-meter route with music.
Event details
- Event: Matsuri Crossing KYOTO × BRASIL
- Dates: Friday, November 6, Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8, 2026, 11:00–21:00
- Venues: Ohigashi-san Plaza (the civic green in front of Higashi Honganji), Higashi Honganji grounds, around Kyoto Station, etc.
- Ticketed stage (Higashi Honganji grounds): Saturday, November 7: doors 17:30, start 18:30, end 21:00 / Sunday, November 8: doors 17:00, start 18:00, end 20:30 (the entry and start times for the 7th have been changed)
- Price: General area ¥4,400 (tax included). Same-day tickets available
- Parade: Saturday, November 7, 9:00–11:00, from Kyoto Station to Higashi Honganji / Ohigashi-san Plaza
- Free stages, booths and workshops: Ohigashi-san Plaza and elsewhere
- Websites (Japanese): https://matsuricrossing.org/main-stage#page-2 (special stage), https://matsuricrossing.org/free-stage (free stage)
