Yamakura Salmon Festival

About this event

This historic festival originates from the "Hatsu-u Matsuri" celebrating the birthday of Hachiman, who has been revered since ancient times as the god of military fortune. Said to have started around the mid-Heian period, the Hatsu-u Matsuri at Yamakura Daijin is also called the "Yamakura Salmon Festival" due to the custom of offering salmon to Hachiman. On the day before the festival, a solemn ritual is conducted with a traditional, elegant procession for the offered salmon, which is then cut into small slices. On the day of the festival, these salmon slices are distributed to worshippers as protective amulets, cherished as auspicious talismans to "avoid disaster" (a pun on the word "shake/sake" meaning both salmon and to avoid). Along with the permanently available amulets of charred salmon, they are believed to bring blessings for warding off evil and eliminating sickness and disaster. In the evening, a mikoshi (portable shrine) procession is also carried out, presenting a scene that feels as if one has traveled back in time to the Heian period.

Venue

Yamakura Daijin Shrine

2347-1 Yamakura, Katori, Chiba 289-0426