About this event
The "Koritori Festival" (Koritori-sai) held at Suhara Shrine is a Shinto ritual in which the presiding priest repeatedly undergoes cold water purification (mizugori) in the Nagara River to cleanse the body. In the evening, a Shinto ritual is performed to welcome the deity Hakusan Daigongen/Hakusan Okami into Suhara Shrine. This festival is held every year on the Sunday closest to the first day of the eleventh month in the lunar calendar. During the koritori purification, the presiding priest enters the water 7 times a day at two-hour intervals to perform water ablutions and cleanse bodily impurities. The ritual procedure involves entering the water waist-deep, followed by the entire body, then mid-depth, and finally bending at the waist in shallow water so the face is immersed, which is believed to grant the purifying blessings of Tsutsu-no-o-no-mikoto and Watatsumi-no-kami. Additionally, during the special prayer ritual exclusive to the Koritori Festival, purification is entrusted to paper effigies (hitogata) to cleanse sins and impurities on behalf of worshipers and offer prayers to Suhara Okami. Prayer talismans and special purification bracelets are also conferred. During the deity-welcoming ritual, the presiding priest holds a sakaki branch, performs four-directional bows (shihōhai), and chants divine songs to welcome Hakusan Okami. The sakaki branch upon which the deity has descended is called "Kasanegakaki" and is conferred to worshipers, believed to invite good fortune and ward off disasters.
Source website (Japanese) ↗Venue
Suhara Shrine
468-1-1 Suhara, Mino, Gifu 501-3706
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