The Mizutsuki exorcism

Special night viewing. The stone lanterns and fishing lanterns, numbering around 400, are lit, and the national treasure, the vermilion shrine building, along with the precincts, is adorned with the soft glow of candles, allowing visitors to enjoy a magnificent and ethereal landscape different from the daytime. Additionally, a lantern offering stage for prayers is set up in the precincts. On May 4, there will be extended operations of the approach cable car.

Along with the Aoi Festival and the Kasuga Festival, one of the three major imperial festivals in Japan, the Hosseikai of 5 years (863) began. Following the offerings of more than 500 people from the mountain to the foot of the mountain with a total of more than 500 people, the bow of the god of God and the bow of the silk house, the bow of the spirit of the people who wish for peace and prosperity of the people, and the fish bird released into the river, A festival in which the dance of the butterfly is dedicated, a shrine event, and a bow of the second half are performed. It can be said to be a "moving classic", a reproduction of the Emperor Heian Dynasty. Image courtesy Ishimizu Hachimanomiya

The history of the drum festival is ancient, beginning in the late Edo period when large "yakatadaiko" (portable drums) were created for each town (currently there are 4). They paraded through the town as a summer festival to ward off disasters such as epidemics. With the shouts of "Yossaa, Yossaa," the men carry the yakatadaiko, which can weigh up to 2 tons, in a magnificent display. Among them, around 6:30 PM, the sight of the four yakatadaiko and children's portable shrines gathering at the foot of Mount Otoko, parading along the approach to Kōra Shrine during the "Miyairi," is truly impressive.