Kashima Shrine White Horse Festival

Kashima Shrine White Horse Festival

Event Overview

A New Year's ritual that has continued since the Kamakura period, about 800 years ago, where a horse is led around to coincide with the opening of the main shrine's doors. It is said that seeing a white horse in the new year wards off evil spirits for that year. In recent years, it has become a custom for worshippers to lay handkerchiefs or towels on the ground, as it is believed that holding what the sacred horse has stepped on will grant their wishes.

Info

  • Event Location:   
  • Kashima Shrine
  • Address:   
  • 2306-1 Miyanaka, Kashima, Ibaraki
  • Public Transportation:   
JR Kashima Shrine Station → 10-minute walk
  • Car Access:   
10km 15 minutes from Tōguan Tōdo Itako IC via National Highway 51 Bypass
  • Phone Number:   
  • 0299-82-1209 (Kashima Shrine)
  • Parking Number:   
150 units/paid

Event Period

  • January 7, 2026 (Wednesday)

Price

Free

Event Category

Seasonal Festivals & Annual Events

The information provided reflects the details available at the time of the survey.
Please note that facility details may change due to the facility’s circumstances, so please check for the latest information before visiting. This content has been translated using machine translation.

Information provided by: JTB Publishing

This content uses automatic translation services. Automatic translations may not always be accurate.
Please note that the translated content may differ from the original meaning. We ask for your understanding when using this content.

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Natsugoshi ceremony

The Great Exorcism is a traditional ritual of disaster deduction that entrusts the sins that people commit unknowingly in their lives to a doll and causes them to flow into the water. The great exorcism of Kashima Shrine is based on the "Futsumatama no Tsurugi" god of the Ōkami of Kashima, who is shown the strongest power to exorcism. The ceremony is 15 o'clock. Image courtesy Kashima Shrine

Kobudo tournament and ceremony

At the "Kobudo Ritual Demonstration Tournament," various schools from within and outside the prefecture, including the Kashima Shinto-ryu, will perform ritual demonstrations at the special performance stage in front of the main shrine. The "Dodo-te-shiki" is a ritual performed by archers of the Ogasawara-ryu, where arrows are shot in a May rain style towards a large target, wishing for the dispelling of evil spirits. Image provided by Kashima Shrine.

The rice festival and the shrine shrine

From 13:00, the Miotage Festival is held, and the child with the flower gasa becomes a Saotome figure and serves the Miotage Mai. The Ryūdama Shrine is served by the Kashima Sodai Kankaiya, and the Wa-style Kōmaya continues to serve the Kashima Ryoken. Image courtesy: Kashima Shrine

Mita-planting festival

A religious ceremony to pray for a good harvest that year. Young rice planters will plant in the approximately 300 tsubo sacred rice field, and a Kagura dance will be dedicated at the dance hall. At 10:00, the festival begins with the signal of fireworks. The rice seedlings distributed by the chief priest will start planting with the signal of three drum beats. *Content may change or be canceled depending on the situation.

Hydrangea Festival

There are many types of hydrangeas, which are about 5000 strains of hydrangeas in the Rainy Kanyane precinct, such as western hydrangea, gaku hydrangea, and amacha. During the festival, hydrangea seedlings are also sold. At Mikasa, a Chinese tea bowl located in the precinct, you can enjoy Chinese cuisine using a medicine dish that is good for your body.

Natsugoshi ceremony

The ritual of the exorcism [Oharai], which performs the great exorcism ceremony with the priesthood and other general attendees, purifies the body and mind, and then performs the ritual of the kunokuguri and reanimates to the original, pure body of the body. 15 o'clock.

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