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
Rengaku
Text
A festival held the evening of August 31 in which portable shrines are paraded (togyo, see shinkōsai) from Togi-Hachiman Shrine to Sumiyoshi Shrine—a distance of about four kilometers—in Togi Township, Hakui District, Ishikawa Prefecture. It is said that once upon a time, Hachiman-daijin (see Hachiman Shinkō) visits the kami of Sumiyoshi Shrine secretly on the night of the last day of July because once upon a time he was saved by the kami from a shipwreck offshore. That night, men and women parade around with a dozen or so portable shrines (shin'yo) and 50 or more multifaceted kiriko lanterns of all sizes. Once they arrive at Sumiyoshi Shrine, the people compete to grab the ritual wands (heisoku) known as rengaku that are attached to the top of kiriko. Getting one of the rengaku is said to mean the claimant will have an abundant catch of fish. On September 1, twelve mikoshi from neighboring villages gather at Sumiyoshi Shrine. On their return, the young men call out to the women "kujiran ka ne!" which is why the event is also known as the kujiri festival. Heisoku, known as dengakuhei, also show up in the chanchan festival at Ōyamato Shrine in Nara Prefecture. One theory suggests that the word rengaku is a provincial variation of dengaku.
— Mogi Sakae

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

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