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
Nabekamuri matsuri
Text
"Pot crown festival." A festival held May 3 at Tsukuma Shrine (also known as Miketsu Shrine) in Maihara Town, Sakata District, Shiga Prefecture. This traveling kami festival (shinkōsai) is unusual in that the procession is joined by eight girls dressed in Heian period clothing and carrying pots made of papier-mâché on their heads. The festival is an ancient one that dates back to the Heian Period (794-1185), as suggested by its mention in the Ise monogatari (Tales of Ise, c. 9th century C.E.): "I wish the Tsukuma festival in Ōmi would come soon, so I could see how many pots the heartless women carry."  It is possible that this rite was commonly seen as one where a woman should visit the shrine on this day wearing one pot for each man with whom they had had relations. There are many stories as to what the pot crowns themselves represent; it is most often said that the women among the shrine's parishoners (ujiko) would carry a pot on their head as an offering when they got married because the enshrined deity (saijin) Ōmiketsu no kami was the kami of meals. The procession sets out around 2 p.m.; the parade of people in various costumes who accompany the portable shrine (shin'yo) is followed by the eight girls wearing pot hats playing the role of nabekamuri onna (pot-crown women).
— Mogi Sakae

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

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