Ee ja nai ka (ええじゃないか?) was a complex of carnivalesque religious celebrations and communal activities, often understood as social/political protests, which occurred in many parts of Japan from June 1867 to May 1868, at the end of the Edo period and the start of the Meiji restoration. The movement originated in the Kansai region, near Kyoto. In West Japan, eejanaika appeared at first in the form of dancing festivals, often related to public works, rain magic, or dances for the dead.