Shiraishi no Kamiokuri

Festival highlights

A highlight is the mikoshi made of Japanese cypress leaves and bamboo, with the procession moving ahead behind it.

A paper offering called an “ohineri,” containing roasted beans and entrusted with calamity, is placed in the mikoshi.

The procession walks carrying flags with words such as “We send away the deity of colds” written in ink, and at the Tsukigawa River they place the mikoshi on a large rock.

The act of hanging a straw sandal with a hole in it over the middle of the river is also a distinctive feature of the event.

The prayers of Shiraishi: visiting three Yasaka Shrines and sending calamity away to the Tsukigawa River

What to expect

During the event, the mikoshi and procession set out from Yasaka Shrine in the upper section, pass Yasaka Shrines in the middle and lower sections, and continue to the Tsukigawa River.

Roasted-bean offerings are placed in the mikoshi, and words sending away deities of illnesses such as colds are written on the flags in ink.

On reaching the settlement boundary, they place the mikoshi on a large rock and hang a straw sandal with a hole in it over the middle of the river.

The event follows a route across the settlement, from the procession’s starting point to the riverbank.

Location and access

Venue and address

Shiraishi district (from Yasaka Shrine in the upper section, through Yasaka Shrines in the middle and lower sections, to the settlement boundary at the Tsukigawa River)

Address Shiraishi, Higashichichibu Village, Chichibu District, Saitama Prefecture

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Dates and season

Season

The second Sunday of May every year

Frequency

Every year

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Origins and History of Shiraishi no Kamiokuri

Shiraishi no Kamiokuri is recognized as a cultural property designated by Saitama Prefecture, as a folk event passed down in the Shiraishi district of Higashichichibu Village.

Higashichichibu Village’s list of designated cultural properties states that it was designated in March 16, Heisei 24, as a folk cultural property (intangible folk cultural property).

Accounts of the event describe carrying the deity of calamity out of the settlement in a mikoshi, and the route to the Tsukigawa River via the Yasaka Shrines in each section.

Official information

Shiraishi no Kamiokuri is listed as a folk cultural property (intangible folk cultural property) in Higashichichibu Village Office’s list of designated cultural properties.

An overview is also available on the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Cultural Heritage Online, where it is listed as an intangible folk cultural property designated by Saitama Prefecture.

Shiraishi no Kamiokuri at a Glance

Shiraishi no Kamiokuri is an intangible folk cultural property designated by Saitama Prefecture, held every year on the second Sunday of May in the Shiraishi district of Higashichichibu Village.

The deity of calamity is placed in a mikoshi made of Japanese cypress leaves and bamboo, then sent from Yasaka Shrine in the upper section, through the middle and lower sections, to the Tsukigawa River.

The event takes shape through offerings containing roasted beans, flags bearing ink-written words, the mikoshi being placed on a large rock, and a straw sandal with a hole in it being hung over the middle of the river.