Kamo Shrine’s annual divination rite, which forecasts the harvest by observing sprouting and shooting arrows
Rite at Kamo Shrine’s Upper Shrine
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Season / frequency
- Late February to early March / Every year
- Location
- Kamo Shrine
- Area
- Fukui Prefecture・Obama City(From Tokyo: approx. 2 h 50 min–3 h 20 min · bullet train)Prefecture-level estimate to a main station or airport, not the venue. Airport access, check-in and onward travel are extra; remote areas and islands can take much longer.
- Highlights and activities
- Wishes behind the festival
- Last updated
- 2026/11/11
The rite at Kamo Shrine’s Upper Shrine is an annual divination event in Kamo, Obama City. A wooden box containing 7 kinds of seed offerings is buried, then dug up the following year to forecast the harvest by observing how they have sprouted.
About Rite at Kamo Shrine’s Upper Shrine
The rite at Kamo Shrine’s Upper Shrine is an annual divination event locally called “Oikemono.”
At Kamo Shrine in Kamo, Obama City, 7 kinds of seed offerings are placed in a wooden box and buried. After 1 year, the box is dug up, and the harvest is forecast by observing how well the seeds have sprouted.
This folk event handed down in the community involves praying for a bountiful harvest of the five grains at the Lower Shrine, proceeding to the Upper Shrine, and performing archery, making offerings and paying respects, and burying and inspecting the boxes.
Festival highlights
Highlights include shooting arrows at a target hung with young wisteria leaves to predict a good harvest, and digging up the box buried the previous year before burying a new one.
The box contains 7 kinds of items: tokoro yam, shiitake, dried persimmon, chestnut, ginkgo nut, acorn, and Japanese torreya nut. After returning to the shrine office, participants check how the seeds have sprouted.
The route from the Lower Shrine to the Upper Shrine, as well as the offering and reverence ceremony in the Upper Shrine’s stone-walled sacred precinct, are also distinctive features that convey the structure of the rite.
Kamo Shrine’s annual divination rite, which forecasts the harvest by observing sprouting and shooting arrows
What to expect
The day before the event, mochi is pounded at the shrine office, and cow’s tongues and flower mochi are made.
On the day, the participants in various roles gather at the shrine office and pack mochi and 7 kinds of seed offerings into a wooden box, which is then sealed.
A procession carrying the box then passes the Lower Shrine and proceeds to the Upper Shrine, where participants wave , shoot arrows, make offerings and pay their respects, dig up the previous year’s box, and bury a new one.
Finally, the sprouts are checked at the shrine office, followed by a naorai communal meal, and cow’s tongues are distributed.
Location and access
- Venue and address
Kamo Shrine, Kamo, Obama City
Address Kamo, Obama City, Fukui Prefecture
Dates and season
- Season
Late February to early March
- Frequency
Every year
Accommodation and hotels PR
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Origins and History of Rite at Kamo Shrine’s Upper Shrine
Oikemono is recorded in early modern documents such as the “Wakasa Kamo Shrine Records” and “Old Domain Secret Records.” They share accounts of the event being held on the 16th day of the New Year and of items being buried.
was once performed as well, but it is no longer performed.
The rite’s attendants used to serve in groups of 4, but because the number of children listed in the Eboshi register has decreased, they now serve one at a time.
Festival attendants were introduced in Heisei 18 in response to the decrease in rite attendants.
Official information
“Oikemono at Kamo Shrine” was selected as a Nationally Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property in Heisei 19 March 7.
The preservation group and tradition bearers are the Kamo Shrine Upper Shrine Rite Preservation Society.
Rite at Kamo Shrine’s Upper Shrine at a Glance
The rite at Kamo Shrine’s Upper Shrine is Kamo’s annual divination event: 7 kinds of seed offerings are placed in a wooden box and buried, and the harvest is forecast the following year by observing how they sprout.
Prayers for a bountiful harvest of the five grains are offered at the Lower Shrine, then the procession proceeds to the Upper Shrine with archery along the way. The box from the previous year is dug up and a new one is buried.
Recorded in documents from the early modern period, the event has been designated a Nationally Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property.
Sources and references
Japanese Festivals.jp Editorial Team
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Article updated: 2026/11/11
