Ikuko Shrine Sunrise Festival

Festival highlights

One highlight is that the offering ceremony and archery ritual take place in succession.

For the archery ritual, a target is made with gold and silver paper attached, representing the eyes of a giant snake or centipede. A boy aged 7 shoots at the target, and a boy aged 5 pulls out the arrow.

As a hamaya rite, it carries prayers for protection from evil and a good harvest.

Kanuma’s annual festival carries on prayers through a pre-dawn offering ceremony and archery ritual

What to expect

The festival begins when all the parishioners gather at the shrine before sunrise.

During the offering ceremony, a shrine rite connected to the tale of offering 42 kinds of offerings before the deity is performed, followed by the archery ritual.

In the archery ritual, a boy aged 7 shoots at a target covered with gold and silver paper, and a boy aged 5 pulls out the arrow.

How to take part

対象年齢：弓取り式では7歳の男子が的を射て、5歳の男子が矢を引き抜く

Location and access

Venue and address

Ikuko Shrine (Momiyama Town, Kanuma City)

Train and bus

1 km from Tobu Momiyama Station / From the “Toriatocho” bus stop in front of JR Kanuma Station and Tobu Shin-Kanuma Station, take a bus bound for Kuchi-Awano and get off at “Ikuko Shrine Entrance”; 600 m from there

Address Momiyama Town, Kanuma City

Dates and season

It is held each year on a Sunday in mid-January (on a Sunday after the “Haruwatari Festival” at Imamiya Shrine, which is held on January 10).

The events begin before sunrise.

Accommodation and hotels PR

Nearby attractions

Museums and art museumsKanuma City

川上澄生美術館

栃木県鹿沼市にある美術館初代館長小林利延の研究者としての経歴から、ユニークな発想で、小規模ながら、川上澄生研究の中心となった。

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Photo and data sources×

写真：Abasaa / Public domain

Photo source ·

Facility data source

Attractions in the same municipality. Check each attraction’s official website for travel distances from the venue and current opening information.

Origins and History of Ikuko Shrine Sunrise Festival

The offering ceremony is said to have originated in a tale associated with “Ikuko Daimyojin.” In Tensho 8 (1580), after a parishioner lost a child to smallpox, they prayed to the deity to bring the child back to life. When their prayer was answered, they offered 42 kinds of offerings in gratitude for the deity’s divine protection.

The archery ritual is a hamaya rite, and is also said to have roots in ancient sun worship, which sought the sun’s renewal in winter.

It is said to have come to be called the Sunrise Festival because it was once held while people waited for sunrise.

Official information

Kanuma City Official Website, “Ikuko Shrine Sunrise Festival”

Ikuko Shrine Sunrise Festival at a Glance

The Ikuko Shrine Sunrise Festival is an annual festival held at Ikuko Shrine on a Sunday in mid-January each year.

After the pre-dawn offering ceremony, a boy aged 7 shoots at a target in the archery ritual, and a boy aged 5 pulls out the arrow.

It is designated as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Kanuma City and is associated with a tale about offering 42 kinds of offerings and a hamaya rite praying for protection from evil and a good harvest.