The Custom of Keta’s Cormorant Festival

This ritual passed down at Keta Taisha involves releasing a cormorant brought from Unoura Town in Nanao City before the gods and reading its movements to divine whether the coming year will bring abundance or poor harvests. From the route walked by the cormorant handlers to the pre-dawn rites before the gods, local beliefs and customs have been passed down together.

About The Custom of Keta’s Cormorant Festival

The custom of Keta’s Cormorant Festival is a ritual in which live cormorants caught in Unoura Town in Nanao City are carried by cormorant handlers to Keta Taisha, then released before the gods as people observe their movements.

The movements of the cormorant until it perches on the ceremonial table are used to divine whether the coming year will bring abundance or poor harvests.

The Cormorant Festival is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property passed down at Keta Taisha and in Unoura Town, and has been carried on by local groups responsible for religious rites.

Source: The Custom of Keta’s Cormorant Festival · 能登の揚浜式製塩の技術 | 石川県

Festival highlights

The main highlight is watching to see where the cormorant released before the gods will perch on the ceremonial table.

The cormorant is brought from Unoura Town in Nanao City. Along the way, the handlers proceed calling out “Ukatori-be,” while people along the route pay their respects to the cormorant.

After the ritual, the cormorant is released from Ichinomiya Beach in front of Keta Taisha into the dark sky.

Source: 気多の鵜祭の習俗／羽咋市公式ホームページ

A cormorant’s sign of the coming year’s harvest in Noto’s December

What to expect

Before the festival, a cormorant is caught in Unoura Town, and 3 cormorant handlers place it in a cormorant basket and carry it on foot.

The journey takes 3 days and 2 nights, with stops at shrines and other places along the way, before reaching Keta Taisha.

After arriving, the cormorant is not fed. Before dawn, the Hachijin ceremony, Nezame no , and a ritual dialogue are followed by a ceremony in which the cormorant is released; finally, it is taken to the coast and released.

Source: 神事案内 - 氣多大社 / 国指定文化財等データベース

Location and access

Address: Hakui City, Nanao City

Host municipality 石川県羽咋市、七尾市

This map shows the surrounding area, not the exact venue location.

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Dates and season

Season: Every year December 16
Frequency: Every year

Tips for your visit

The ritual takes place in the early hours of December 16, and Keta Taisha’s information gives the time as 3 a.m.

The cormorants are carried on foot from Unoura, Nanao City, over several days, so the time and location differ depending on whether you watch along the route or attend the ritual at the shrine.

Please follow the instructions on the day regarding the progress of the ritual and the areas open to visitors.

Origins and History of The Custom of Keta’s Cormorant Festival

One theory about the origins of the Cormorant Festival passed down at Keta Taisha is that it began when Mikado Nushihiko-no-Kami caught a Japanese cormorant and presented it to the enshrined deity, Ōkuninushi-no-Mikoto, when he landed on Shikajima in Unoura Town to develop Noto.

There are also records showing that Maeda Toshiie, lord of the Kaga domain, regarded this ancient rite as important.

In 2000, it was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

Official information

Keta Taisha’s official guide to its rites provides information on the annual festival calendar and the schedule and details of the Cormorant Festival.