Shobata Okowa Festival

Festival highlights

One highlight is the distinctive sight of a barrel packed with white okowa, wrapped in woven straw matting made from rope, and carried on a green bamboo pole.

The procession winds through the district from the host family’s home to Shobata Shrine, accompanied by sakaki branches and gohei. After the rites before the deity, the barrel, still wrapped in woven straw matting, is struck against large stones, tōrō, and other objects in the shrine grounds.

When the container breaks, the scene shifts to a vigorous scramble as worshippers grab the okowa, now flattened into a mochi-like mass.

Shobata’s festival, where the community gathers around sacred okowa and carries on its prayers

What to expect

In Shobata, the host family prepares okowa, a barrel, and woven straw matting, while the year’s appointed team takes charge of the event.

A procession carrying the barrel proceeds from the host family’s home to Shobata Shrine, where the okowa is offered before the deity and the rites are performed.

Afterward, the barrel is struck until it breaks, and worshippers use their hands to grab and eat the okowa, now flattened into a mochi-like mass.

It is said that eating the okowa brings a year free of illness and misfortune, and that biting a piece of the barrel makes your teeth stronger.

Location and access

Venue and address

Shobata Shrine (Shobata, Aisai City)

Event venue 愛知県愛西市 勝幡神社

This map uses the venue name. Check the official guide for the event area and entrances.

Dates and season

Season

The second Sunday of every March

Frequency

Every year

Accommodation and hotels PR

Origins and History of Shobata Okowa Festival

The Okowa Festival was once held in several parts of western Owari, but records now cite Shobata Shrine in Shobata, Aisai City, and Hachiman Shrine in Shimonomori, Shippo Town, as places where it is still passed down.

In Shobata, the event has been run primarily by the host family and the year’s appointed team, with districts taking turns in their respective roles.

In recent years, there have been changes in who prepares the okowa and weaves the straw matting, as well as in who takes part in the scramble. The event is said to have become simpler and to have changed in other ways.

Official information

The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Database of National Cultural Properties lists information on “The Okowa Festival of Western Owari” as an intangible folk cultural property requiring measures such as the creation of a record.

The Shobata Okowa Festival Preservation Society and the Shimonomori district are listed as preservation groups.

Shobata Okowa Festival at a Glance

The Shobata Okowa Festival is an annual event centered on sacred okowa, passed down at Shobata Shrine in Shobata, Aisai City.

Its distinctive sequence involves carrying a barrel wrapped in woven straw matting in a procession, breaking the container after offering it before the deity, and sharing the okowa once it has become a mochi-like mass.

This local event conveys the community’s faith in prayers for abundant harvests, health and protection from illness and misfortune, as well as the folk culture of western Owari.