縁日(えんにち)

えんにち
noun
temple festival, fair day
culturereligion
1. temple/shrine festival day, fair
A day associated with a particular Buddhist or Shinto deity, on which visiting the temple or shrine is believed to bring special blessings. By extension, the festive market or fair held on such days with food stalls and games.
縁日(えんにち)に行(い)こう。
Let's go to the fair.
縁日(えんにち)の屋台(やたい)でたこ焼(や)きを買(か)った。
I bought takoyaki at a stall at the fair.
子(こ)どもの頃(ころ)、近所(きんじょ)のお寺(てら)の縁日(えんにち)で金魚(きんぎょ)すくいをするのが楽(たの)しみだった。
When I was a child, I looked forward to scooping goldfish at the fair at the neighborhood temple.

Cultural note

Originally, 縁日(えんにち) referred to days with a special karmic connection (縁(えん)) to a particular deity, when visiting would bring extra merit. In modern usage, it primarily refers to the festive markets that spring up at temples and shrines, with food stalls (屋台(やたい)), games like 金魚(きんぎょ)すくい (goldfish scooping) and 射的(しゃてき) (target shooting), and a lively atmosphere.

Common collocations

Related Words

Related: 夏祭(なつまつ)り (summer festival)
general
Added 2026.2.8 14:52 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
10500/10620_ennichi