Rituals & Annual Events
Reitaisai
The most important annual festival of a shrine, held on a date significant to the enshrined deity.
The reitaisai is a shrine's premier annual celebration, held on a date connected to the deity's mythology or the shrine's founding. Special rituals, mikoshi processions, and festive stalls transform the grounds into their most vibrant state of the year.
Japan's three greatest festivals — Kyoto's Gion Matsuri (Yasaka Shrine), Osaka's Tenjin Matsuri (Osaka Tenmangu), and Tokyo's Kanda Matsuri (Kanda Myōjin) — are all reitaisai. Gion Matsuri spans the entire month of July, with its yamaboko float procession registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Far from mere events, reitaisai are sacred occasions where centuries of community history and devotion converge.
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Reitaisai
The most important annual festival of a shrine, held on a date significant to the enshrined deity.
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Hatsumōde
The tradition of making the first shrine or temple visit of the New Year to pray for blessings.
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Setsubun
The eve of spring celebrated by throwing beans to drive out evil and invite good fortune.
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Shichi-Go-San
A rite of passage celebrating children's growth at ages 3, 5, and 7 with a shrine visit.
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Ōharae
A biannual purification ceremony (June 30 and December 31) cleansing the accumulated sins and impurities of six months.
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Chinowa
A large ring woven from miscanthus grass, set up during Ōharae for visitors to walk through for purification.
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Yakuyoke
A prayer ritual performed during unlucky years to ward off misfortune and protect against disaster.
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Jichinsai
A Shinto ritual performed before construction to appease the land deity and pray for building safety.
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Oharai
A ritual of cleansing sin and impurity using prayer words and the waving of a purification wand.
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Kitō
A formal prayer ceremony conducted by a priest to petition the gods or Buddha for specific blessings.
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Norito
Sacred words spoken aloud by Shinto priests to communicate with the gods during ceremonies.
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Tamagushi Hōten
The Shinto ritual of offering a sakaki branch adorned with paper streamers to the gods — comparable to Buddhist incense offering.
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Mikoshi
A sacred palanquin carried through the streets during festivals, believed to transport the deity among the people.
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Obon
A Buddhist observance honoring ancestral spirits who return home during mid-August.
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Ohyakudo-mairi
An intense devotional practice of walking 100 round trips between a stone marker and the shrine while praying.
