Encyclopedia of Shinto

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カテゴリー1： 5. Rites and Festivals
カテゴリー2： Individual Shrine Observances
Title
Kamado matsuri
Text
"Cauldron festival." The main annual festival held July 10 at Shiogama Shrine, Shiogama City, Miyagi Prefecture. In what is called the asamairi-no-gi (morning veneration rite), sea water is drawn at high tide that day and the new water is used to replace the water in the cauldron sacralized at the shrine. In the afternoon, after a large, 640-kg portable shrine (mikoshi, see shin'yo) has been carried around the city, the cauldron is transferred to a gozabune (a type of boat for people of elevated status) with a figurehead in the form of a phoenix. With a ship to drive away tengū (goblins) in the lead and accompanied by ten offertory vessels including boats for attendants and for kagura (sacred music and dance performances), the gozabune sails around Matsushima Bay for nearly five hours. A type of horseback archery (yabusame) contest is also held on the grounds of the shrine (keidai).
In recent year, the festival has become more widely known as the shiokamaminato matsuri (salt cauldron harbor festival). It is said that the sacralized cauldron was used by the kami worshipped at the shrine (saijin), Shiotsuchiojinokami, when he taught the people how to make salt with fire at this bay, and also that the water within the cauldron would change color whenever there was a disaster in the province. In this connection, the moshioyaki shinji (seaweed-salt cooking rite) for cooking salt also takes place on July 4, six days before the main festival.
— Mogi Sakae

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

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