Fuwa Hachimangu Grand Festival

About this event

Handed down in Shimanto City, Kochi Prefecture, the "Fuwa Hachimangu Grand Festival" is a traditional Shinto ritual known for the "Wedding of the Deities," where portable shrines (mikoshi) carrying male and female deities parade through the town. Initiated approximately 540 years ago by Lord Ichijo to admonish the custom of marriage by capture, this festival is carried on today as a ritual rare throughout Japan. After the female deity's mikoshi arrives at Hachimangu Shrine, where the male deity's mikoshi waits after parading through the town, the "Koshi-awase" ritual is performed. The day before the festival features events such as the official ritual (regular festival), celebratory taiko drumming, martial arts demonstrations, the Yoimiya Eve Festival, children's dedication sumo, Yosakoi dedication, folk dancing, and dedicated Kagura dances. The first day of the festival presents a variety of events including the mikoshi procession, Yosakoi Shimanto, the Funato-age ritual (eggplant taking), dedicated tsuzumi drumming, the Takaya festival, Ageuma horse ritual (※ cancelled / not held), the mikoshi-matching ceremony, the main ritual, and rice cake tossing. This festival serves as a precious opportunity where local history and culture come to life, captivating many people.

Venue

Fuwa Hachimangu Shrine

1374-1 Fuwa, Shimanto, Kochi 787-0017