Kawakami Festival (Sanyare Festival)

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A festival
Imazu area

The festival is held on a grand scale every year on the third Sunday of April at Hioki Shrine (Kaminomiya) in Sanami and Tsuno Shrine (Shimonomiya) in Kitoge. It is highly regarded as a folklore resource that conveys the ancient festival style, such as music and sanyare, to the present day, and in 4 it was designated an intangible folk cultural asset of the prefecture. The main locations are Hioki Shrine and Tsuno Shrine, where the large flags and portable shrines are carried out in rotation. On the day of the festival, once the ceremonies at both shrines are over, each procession heads to Hegasaki Bamba (Otabisho), located halfway between the two shrines. The mikoshi arrives at the horse riding ground, where two large flags about 3 meters high and about 63 small flags held by children are waiting. The mikoshi togyo (portable shrine procession) and the sanyare dance are then held, and the procession proceeds to the festival ground at the back of the horse riding ground. After the mikoshi togyo, a ceremony in which parishioners from each village offer devout prayers and yabusame (horseback archery) are held. The "sanyare" in the music is a religious custom of ancient Japanese people, where people feared evil spirits around them, repented of their own evil deeds, and prayed to the good spirits of their ancestors for help in order to avoid the punishment that would result. The origin of the word "sanyare" is thought to be "san" meaning "come now" and "yare" meaning "harae". It is also said to mean "good fortune" and "thank the mountains and fields".

Special feature on historical tourism Imazu Area Guide

Address: Hiragasaki Horse Racing Track / Hiokimae, Imazu-cho, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture *Public viewing is at Hiragasaki Horse Racing Track
Hioki Shrine / 859 Sakanami, Imazucho, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture
Tsuno Shrine / 316-1 Kitaagai, Imazu-cho, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture
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Contact: Hioki Shrine TEL: 0740-22-0161　
Tsuno Shrine TEL: 0740-22-1035

Access: To Hiragasaki Baba: Take the bus (Sogo Undou Koen Line) from JR Omi-imazu Station for about 20 minutes and get off at the "Shobuhonbu" bus stop.