Takasago Jinja Shrine Fall Festival 高砂神社秋祭り

Official explanation

This two-day festival, held annually over October 10–11, revolves around the lively musical procession of eight floats (yatai). On the first day, a portable shrine (mikoshi) is carried from Takasago Jinja Shrine along each street in Takasago.

Shrine parishioners (ujiko) from each area form a procession behind the mikoshi with yatai, festival floats (danjiri), and stringed instruments (hikimono). At a certain point, the mikoshi is taken to a place where the gods (kami) can take a rest during the ritual procession (otabisho), where rites are observed, including prayers for the townspeople’s happiness and good health.

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Another procession is called Funatogyo (honorable river crossing), which involves placing the mikoshi on a boat and floating it down the Kako River. The boat aspect takes place every three years, and preserves awareness of the history of Takasago, which had developed and formerly prospered as a key marine transportation center.

On the second day of the festival, yatai from each town take part in various events in the spirit of collaboration and competition. The highlight of the second day is the contest in which participants push the yatai against each other in a bid to demonstrate their relative strength to the deities (kami) believed to be watching.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.