Kattate Festival

About this event

This is a festival where parishioners of Gosho Komataki Shrine dedicate sacred fire to Fuji Sengen Shrine located on Mt. Gongen to pray for bountiful harvests. The procession of torches ascending toward the mountainside has become a seasonal tradition signaling the end of summer in Makabe. Rituals begin at 6:00 PM, lighting of the torches takes place at 6:30 PM, followed by the mountain ascent, and dedicated fireworks are launched after 7:00 PM. Children can also participate, though easy-to-walk clothing is recommended due to the steep slope. Preparing a flashlight and insect repellent spray for the way back is also recommended. Held since ancient times as a sacred ritual of Gosho Komataki Shrine, the guardian deity of Makabe, this festival includes prayers for family safety, business prosperity, and bountiful harvests. The sight of torches carried by the crowd gathered at the mountainside shrine being piled up and burned all at once is truly spectacular. It is said that since around the Edo period, there was also a custom of divining the year's crop yield based on how the torches burned.

Venue

Gosho Komataki Shrine

499 Yamao, Makabe-cho, Sakuragawa, Ibaraki 300-4406