The Tsutsugayu Ritual

The Tsutsugayu Ritual, passed down at Fujimiya Shrine, is a traditional event in Ishida, Kawagoe City, that uses azuki bean porridge and reed tubes to divine the year’s harvest and weather.

About The Tsutsugayu Ritual

The Tsutsugayu Ritual is held early in the morning on January 15 at Fujimiya Shrine in Ishida, Kawagoe City.

Reed tubes are dipped in azuki bean porridge, and the harvest and weather for the year are divined from the number of grains of rice inside the tubes.

It is designated as a city cultural property, and the results are compiled in a table.

Festival highlights

The highlight is a distinctive harvest divination using azuki bean porridge and reed tubes.

Eighteen short reed tubes are woven together like a reed screen and rolled up, then placed in a porridge-stirring stick and dipped into the porridge 2 times. A then splits them one by one and examines the grains of rice inside.

The ritual divines the harvest of barley, wheat, soybeans, rice, and other crops, as well as the degree of rain, wind, and sunshine—revealing the close ties between farming and daily life.

A Kawagoe ritual that reads the year’s harvest from azuki bean porridge and reed tubes

What to expect

A hearth and large pot are set up in the , and azuki bean porridge is made by boiling 1 go of azuki beans, 1 sho of rice, and 1 to of water.

The shinshoku dips the reed tubes into the porridge and, after praying before the shrine, splits them open one by one to check the grains of rice.

The results are compiled in a table as a divination of the harvest and weather, then distributed.

Azuki bean porridge is served after the ritual, and it is said that eating it prevents tooth decay.

Location and access

Venue and address: 藤宮神社　川越市石田783／電車・バス：東武東上線　川越駅（本川越駅）からバス、東武バス桶川駅西口行き「府川」下車徒歩3分

Address 783 Ishida, Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture

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Dates and season

Season: Early in the morning on January 15
Frequency: Every year

Accommodation and hotels PR

写真：三人日 / CC BY-SA 4.0

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Origins and History of The Tsutsugayu Ritual

The Tsutsugayu Ritual is an intangible folk cultural property designated by the city and passed down at Fujimiya Shrine.

The ritual’s origin and year of establishment are not specified, but it is confirmed that it became a city-designated cultural property in Showa 47 February 8.

The current event is described as a custom of using azuki bean porridge and reed tubes to divine the harvest and weather early in the morning on January 15.

Official information

Kawagoe City lists the “Tsutsugayu Ritual” among Fujimiya Shrine’s events as a city-designated cultural property.

The city’s information notes that the event date and time may change, and provides the Cultural Properties Protection Division’s phone number for inquiries about visiting.