The autumn gagaku concert at the Imperial Palace

Why it is on the list

The Music Department is the court orchestra: it plays gagaku at ceremonies in the palace, at State Dinners and at the spring and autumn Garden Parties.¹ The autumn concert, held since 1956, is when the public hears it on its own stage inside the palace.¹ Its gagaku has been an Important Intangible Cultural Property since 1955, the musicians recognised together as its holders, and has been on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2009.² Each performance pairs kangen, the orchestra alone, with bugaku, the dances; in 2026 the programme was Ōshōkun, Etenraku and Bairo, then Tōrika, Konju and Tōdenraku.³

It is the wrong choice at short notice. Seats go by a single lottery each summer: in 2026, 20,623 people applied for 1,800 places.³ For a visit inside the palace on a set date, take the guided tour of the Imperial Palace grounds instead.

How to get it

The Imperial Household Agency announces the dates, programme and terms around July each year; the concert falls between late October and early November.³ In 2026 applications ran from 7 to 31 July for performances on 23, 24 and 25 October, at 10:30 and 14:30, doors an hour earlier.³ Apply once, online through the form on the agency's page or by postcard to the Music Department, for one to four people, all of elementary-school age or older, naming the day and the morning or afternoon performance.³ A second application in any form, a group of five, or a missing address or age for anyone voids it.³ Entry is free.³ Online applicants hear by email by mid-September, winners and losers alike; by post, only winners hear, by an admission letter.³ Questions go to the Music Department on +81 3 3213 1111, weekdays 09:00 to 12:00 and 13:30 to 17:00.³

Discretion

Every guest shows identity with name, address and date of birth, such as a My Number card or a driving licence, beside the admission letter; without it there is no entry.³ Bags are checked at the palace gate, so allow time.³ The hall holds 300 at each performance.³