Iwashimizu Festival (Imperial Festival)

About this event

Counted as one of the Three Great Imperial Festivals alongside the Kamo Festival (Aoi Festival) and Nara Kasuga Taisha's Kasuga Festival, the Iwashimizu Festival is an important festival praying for national tranquility as well as the prosperity and happiness of the people. Continuing since 863 (the 5th year of the Jogan era), this festival conveys ancient Heian rituals to the present day. The ceremony begins around 2:00 AM, and from around 3:00 AM, a Shinko procession of more than 500 attendants escorting three Gofohren (imperial palanquins) descends to the Tongu (temporary shrine) at the foot of the mountain. From around 8:00 AM, Hojo rituals praying for the peace and happiness of all living beings are conducted, including the Kocho-no-mai (Butterfly Dance), chanting of the Oharae-no-kotoba, and the release of fish into the river. Held annually on September 15, Mount Otokoyama, where Iwashimizu Hachimangu is enshrined, has served as a guardian shrine for the capital and the nation due to its location at the capital's Ura-Kimon (southwestern inauspicious direction). An Imperial Festival (Chokusai) is a ceremony where an imperial envoy (Chokushi) sent by the Emperor attends and offers sacred offerings (heihaku) from the Emperor. The Hojo ritual (from 8:00 AM) and Bugaku dance dedication (from 10:00 AM) held in front of the Tongu can be viewed free of charge.

Venue

Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine

30 Yawata Takabo, Yawata, Kyoto 614-8005