June is summer in the lunar calendar. The Tenno Matsuri is a festival to pray for the extermination of epidemics, the prevention of misfortune, and the prosperity of the local community. It is an urban type of festival similar to the Gion Festival in Kyoto, as opposed to the rural type of festival held in spring and fall to pray for and give thanks for the rice harvest.
The Yoimiya Festival and the regular festival are solemnly held in the presence of the general representatives of the 61 towns, as well as the Ujiko worshippers. The 61 towns and villages of the 61 Ujiko are transformed into a single colorful and magnificent festival.
While portable shrines are often carried with four or six carrying poles in a well, we carry the portable shrine with only two poles. The “mikoshi-buri” (swinging the portable shrine so violently that the phoenix on the roof touches the ground) is a very wild, heroic, and solemn scene.
1 Comment
Matsuri.. we need Hundoshi