Okaeri Festival

This room is dedicated to the Okaeri Festival which occurs in Mikawa.

The Okaeri Festival is a spring festival of Fujitsuka Shrine. It is said that the Okaeri Festival began approximately 250-300 years ago during the late Edo Period, however the records were all destroyed in fires that occurred in Motoyoshi in 1834 and 1858. Unfortunately, no records were stored in Fujitsuka Shrine.

On the first day of the festival, the “mikoshi” (a type of transportable shrine) is carried through town by the youth of the village, starting from Fujitsuka Shrine. It is accompanied by the trill of horns. Thirteen floats, each representing the thirteen towns and industry unions, lead the parade. The floats and mikoshi travel around town, blessing each household with safety and bountiful trade. At the end of the first day the parade finishes at the north edge of Mikawa where the floats are stored until the next day.

On the second day the parade starts again with Imamachi's float in the lead, and the mikoshi carried by men at the rear. After passing through Okaeri Street, the parade arrives at Fujitsuka Shrine in the early hours of the next morning, thus ending the festival.

The previous mikoshi was built by one of the well-off traders working on the kitamaebune, and donated to Fujitsuka Shrine in 1834. In 1857, Ninnaji Temple (Kyoto) donated a chrysanthemum crested “hioi” sunshade for the omikoshi. The mikoshi used these days is a replica, built in 1974.

This festival was designated as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Ishikawa Prefecture, in 2001.