Hokota Summer Festival (Hoko Shrine Annual Grand Festival)

About this event

A traditional summer festival with more than 400 years of history, held in Hokota City, Ibaraki Prefecture. It is held for 3 days from the last Friday to Sunday of August every year in conjunction with the Goshinko (sacred procession), where the deity of Hoko Shrine, the tutelary deity of Hokota, visits each neighborhood where shrine parishioners reside. During the festival period, 1 mikoshi (portable shrine) and 8 floats parade heroically and magnificently through the city, bringing vibrancy to the region. On the first day, "Yoimatsuri" (eve festival) is held as a preliminary celebration; the duty-assigned town prepares the "Okaraya" (temporary shrine), and each town prepares celebratory dedications such as floats and lion dances. On the second day, based on the folklore that "the enshrined deity arrived by boat," the "Bokyo no Shinji" (ritual of nostalgia) is held, in which the mikoshi is guided to the boundary of the former Kushibiki Village and takes a brief rest at a spot overlooking Kitaura Lake. Afterward, the mikoshi visits all neighborhoods and is delivered to the duty-assigned town (temporary shrine). On the third day, receiving visits from parishioners as the local guardian deity, as night falls the mikoshi is carried energetically only within the neighborhood of the duty-assigned town, while floats and lions decorating the festival see the mikoshi off. Finally, the mikoshi returns to Hoko Shrine, bringing the summer festival to a close. This festival embodies prayers for good health, traffic safety, and bountiful harvests, and is a precious event where the faith and tradition of local residents remain alive.

Venue

Kashimanada Seaside Park

390 Otake, Hokota, Ibaraki 311-1513