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| 1 |
Koden shinjō sai |
"Old tales, new tastes festival." A ritual held November 23 at Izumo Shrine in the town of Taisha, Hikawa district, Shimane Prefecture. The gūji (chief priest) of the shrine (see Izumo kokusō ) offers a new crop of rice to the kami ; joined by the the kami of heaven and earth ( t... |
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| 2 |
Komahiki shinji |
"Horse leading rite." A rite held on October 15 at Masumida Shrine in Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture, to select the horses that will be used in the tōkasai (peach-blossom festival) to be held on April 3 of the following year. The festival calls for 30 official ceremonia... |
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| 3 |
Kunimuke matsuri |
A shinkōsai (processional festival) held from March 18 to 23 at Keta Jinja, Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture. The festival name is also read heikokusai . It is a rite that recollects the territorial pacification exploits of the saijin (main enshrined kami ) Ōnamuchinomikoto. A gran... |
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| 4 |
Kurayami Matsuri |
"In the dark festival." Held on the evening of May 5 at the Ōkunitama Shrine in Fuchū City, Tokyo Prefecture. The shrine's main annual rite, it is preceded on April 30 by a purification ceremony (see harae ) held on the waters offshore of Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward; a mirror poli... |
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| 5 |
Kuwafuri shinji |
"Hoe-swinging rite." An annual festival held April 24 at Nakayama Shrine in Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture. Before the shin'yo (portable shrine) departs, a shishimai (lion dance) is performed in the shrine's front courtyard near the gate in the mizugaki (a fence enc... |
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| 6 |
Kōnomachi zamondō |
An ancient provincial sōja (a shrine for several kami ) festival held May 5 at Rokusho Shrine in the town of Ōiso, Naka District, Kanagawa Prefecture. Mikoshi (portable shrines, see shin'yo ) for the five great shrines ( taisha gosha ) in Sagami Province (covering parts of present-da... |
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| 7 |
Kōnomiya hadaka matsuri |
"Kōnomiya naked festival." Commonly known as the Kōnomiya no hadaka matsuri ("naked festival of the chief provincial shrine"), this festival is held on the 13th day of the 1st month of the lunar calendar at the Ōwari Ōkunitama Shrine in Inazawa City, Aichi Pre... |
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| 8 |
Mato-bakai |
"Scramble for the target." An archery rite held on January 15 at Shioji Shrine in Nagasu Town, Tamana District, Kumamoto Prefecture. Bakau means "to scramble" or "to struggle" for something. Following ceremonies that take place on the morning of ... |
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| 9 |
Matsu-no-o Matsuri |
A portable shrine procession ( shinkō ) festival held from the last day of the rabbit in the fourth month to the first day of the bird in the fifth of the old lunar calendar at Matsu-no-o Shrine in Nishikyō Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. Nowadays, the festival begins the fourth Sund... |
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| 10 |
Me-kari shinji |
A wakame (a type of seaweed) harvesting rite held on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar at Mekari (the characters mean " wakame harvest") Shrine in Moji Ward, Kita-Kyūshū City, Fukuoka Prefecture. Before dawn on the old New Year's Day, a shrine priest ( sh... |
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| 11 |
Miare shinji, Mikage matsuri |
"Divine manifestation rite" and the Mikage Festival. A joint festival of the Kamowakeikazuchi (aka Kamigamo) and Kamomioya (aka Shimogamo) shrines, both located in Kita Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. On May 15 there is a festival known as the Aoi ("hollyhoc... |
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| 12 |
Mikakushi shinji |
"Body hiding rite." A festival held on May 3 at Yaegaki Shrine in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. The enshrined kami are Susanoo-no-mikoto (see Susanoo) and Kushinadahime. The rite is associated with the story of Kushinadahime having hidden herself in the inner sanct... |
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| 13 |
Mikamagi shinji |
"Firewood rite." A rite held on December 10 at Kumano Hongū Shrine in Hongū Town, Muro District, Wakayama Prefecture. The youths among the shrine's local parishioners ( ujiko ) present all the firewood needed for preparing one year's worth of food offerings ( shinsen ) a... |
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| 14 |
Mikari shinji |
" Kami hunt rite." Held from December 26 to January 4 at Awa Shrine in Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture. There is a uniqueness to the food offerings ( shinsen ) in this rite. The morning offering comes with white rice and the evening offering features sekihan (rice mixed with ... |
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| 15 |
Mikiai no shinji |
" Sake distilling rite." A festival held September 9 at Susa Shrine in Sada Town, Hikawa District, Shimane Prefecture. This rice-harvest thanskgiving event is based on an ancient ceremony on the occasion when Susanoo-no-mikoto took Kushinada-hime as his wife. Priest... |
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| 16 |
Mimashie Matsuri |
A rite held from January 1 to 3 at Kibitsu Shrine in Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture. Shitogi , a type of mochi made for such purposes, is offered up in a kettle left in the Mi-kama-den, the most sacred of halls. The kettle begins to whistle when the fire is lit in the hearth. The festival i... |
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| 17 |
Minakuchi Matsuri |
"Water sluice festival." A rice-field planting festival and this irrigation festival are held July 19-20 at Mononobe Shrine in Ōda City, Shimane Prefecture. Horses decorated with ritual wands are brought before the worship hall ( haiden ) after the ceremonies and led a... |
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| 18 |
Minige no shinji |
"Throwing the self off rite." A ritual held the night of August 14 at Izumo Shrine in Taisha Town, Hikawa District, Shimane Prefecture. On the evening of August 12, priests ( shinshoku ) perform ritual ablutions ( misogi ) on the beach at Inasanohama. The night of the 13th, a ... |
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| 19 |
Mitana-e shinji |
"Sacred trellis rite." A rite held on January 14 at Kamowakeikazuchi Shrine in Kamigamo, Kita Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. The rite includes holding a "reading of the fish" ( uodoku ). In the past, the six shrine estates ( shinryō ) in Yamashiro Province ... |
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| 20 |
Mitoshiro tanemaki shinji |
"Scattering the offering rice rite." A rite held July 1 at Ikushima Tarushima Shrine in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture. A temporary hall called the okatashiro is built on a footpath through the fields where the crop to be used for shrine offerings ( mitoshirota ) is grown; fo... |
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