Yometori Festival

Festival highlights

One highlight is the distinctive mock ceremony venue: a nekoboku is laid down, covered with woven mats, and enclosed with bamboo and curtains.

A shrine priest leads the proceedings, while a young child from the zaamoto group serves as the go-between.

After the san-san-kudo cups are exchanged, the phrase “This wedding goes only as far as what takes place on the nekoboku” signals the start of the naorai feast—a uniquely local turn in the proceedings.

A traditional Hiekata event that brings local hopes together through rituals and a mock wedding

What to expect

The event begins in the morning with rituals and the selection of the next year's zaamoto at Hiekata Sugawara Shrine.

In the afternoon, the event moves to the zaamoto's home, where a mock wedding in the style of a Shinto ceremony takes place in a venue set up using a nekoboku.

A shrine priest leads the proceedings, a young child serves as the go-between, and the san-san-kudo is followed by a naorai feast.

Location and access

Venue and address

Morning: Hiekata Sugawara Shrine / Afternoon: zaamoto's home (Hiekata, Kikuchi City)

Address Hiekata, Kikuchi City

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Dates and season

Season

Every year on December 20

Frequency

Every year

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Tips for your visit

As the event is said to be mainly for local residents, visitors are asked to observe proper etiquette and take care not to disrupt the community's activities.

Source: 菊池市無形文化財カレンダー｜菊池市公式ウェブサイト

Origins and History of Yometori Festival

It is not clear when the Yometori Festival began, but documents passed down in the district show that it was held at least as early as around the end of the Edo period.

According to local lore, when Sugawara no Michizane stopped in Hiekata, he treated people to sake in connection with a wedding taking place nearby.

This folk event in Hiekata has passed down separately both the uncertain date of its origins and the traditional account of its background.

Official information

Inquiries: Kikuchi City Office, Board of Education, Cultural Affairs Division, Cultural Promotion Section / Tel. 0968-41-7515

Yometori Festival at a Glance

The Yometori Festival is a folk event passed down in Hiekata, Kikuchi City, every year on December 20.

In the morning, rituals and the selection of the zaamoto take place at Hiekata Sugawara Shrine. In the afternoon, a mock wedding is held at the zaamoto's home using a nekoboku, followed by san-san-kudo and then a naorai feast.

This local event is a prayer for household safety and the prosperity of descendants, and is said to have been held at least as early as around the end of the Edo period.