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
Raishi
Text
A rite held February 13 at Okafuto Shrine in Imadate Township, Imadate District, Fukui Prefecture. Raishi is a term for fire festival (sagichō). The name is said to derive from the fact that raishi can also be written as hōraishi, and fire festivals were also once known as the hōrai festival. In the past it took place on January 13. Large bundles of straw that stand about two meters tall and are known as tsutojime are made on the 10th. On the 12th, round sticky-rice cakes (kagami-mochi) are preprared and chestnut trees decorated with sticky-rice balls. The name of the rite probably comes from the fact that a tsutojime decorated with good luck charms resembles a hōrai stand (a festive New Year's decoration in the form of a stand on which various foods have been piled up). The kami procession (see shinkōsai) associated with the rite takes place on the 13th, with paraders singing a tree-carrying song (kiyariuta) as the procession wends its way around the neighborhood. After the procession returns, the decorated chestnut trees are distributed to the shrine's parishoners (ujiko). The fire festival takes place on the 15th to burn the New Year's decorations.
— Mogi Sakae

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

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