☆Kiyomori Festival in World heritage MIYAJIMA☆

Kiyomori Festival
Day&Time: March 18th (Sun) from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Place: Miyajima

Day time is getting longer and longer these days and I can tell spring is coming soon.
There are lots lots of Event will be held in Spring in Japan. The best season for　Cherry Blossom Viewing is on the way, as well known. For Japanese Spring mean is making a new start. For student, they will go on to new class or school, for adult could be promoted or become new members of society and so on.

Before enjoying all those Events in Spring, There will be famous annual festival held in Miyajima

"Kiyomori Festival i"

In remembrance of the reverential virtue of Kiyomori Taira who built the foundation of the prosperity of Miyajima, the Kiyomori festival in the motif of "Itsukushima Shrine prayer parade of the Heike family" will be held.


Place:
Square in front of Miyajima pier → Omotesando Shopping Arcade → Mikasahama beach → Itsukushima Shrine → Kiyomori Shrine
!!!Participants pass through from Miyajima pier via Itsukushima Shrine worship to Kiyomori Shrine on parade in disguise such as the Heian picture scroll!!!


Contents:
Children parade, brass band and baton march are finished at Itsukushima shrine.
Children parade (around 100 children) - Brass band - Baton twirling - Warriors - Children of the Heikes - Kocho - Shirabyoshi - Karyobin - Priests - Biwa hoshi - Shinto priests - Wagons (Kiyomori compulsory labors / uchikisugata) - Retainers

Let's gain lots of valuable experience from this Japanese traditional festival!

☆Chinka-Sai in Miyajima☆

It's getting much colder these days..Need Kotatsu to keep me warm:)

Itsukushima Shrine’s Chinkasai Festival is held every December 31st from 6pm, providing a show visitors are unlikely to forget. The festival is intended to protect both the Shrine and the town from disastrous fires, a real concern where, traditionally, close-set buildings were constructed largely of wood and paper. The way the festival approaches the problem, however, may seem a bit counterintuitive.



Late in the evening, crowds of young men begin to gather in the area before the Shrine. An huge fire is lit and the men, working in teams, scramble to take hold of enormous torches made of bundled pine wood. With the torches blazing and smoking, the men dash for the Otorii gate and for a time the whole sea between the Shrine and the gate appears to be on fire. Chinkasai is sometimes translated as the “fire-sating” festival, and the idea seems to be that by feeding fire now, the Shrine and town will be spared its hunger later. An interesting idea, and a dramatic and exciting display.



Only 25minutes from Hiroshima station to Miyajimaguchi station, transfer to ferry which takes 10,minutes!
You can have 2 great experience at once! Sightseeing Miyajima(World Heritage) and Japanese Traditional Festival which held only once a year!!

☆Kikka Festibal in MIYAJIMA☆

2011 October 15th (Sat) 6pm~

Autumn leaves in Miyajima

Autumn is coming to Hiroshima very soon. It's been chilly these days.　Easy to get sick as seasons change. Please take good care of yourself.

Kikka Festibal will be held in Miyajima in October. This festival is for offering chrysanthemum flowers to Japanese god.
There will be court dance performance.

The court dance and music introduced into Miyajima from Kyoto by Kiyomori Taira is dancing by the gagaku. Around 20 pieces including "Ryo-oh", "Nasori" "Manzai raku" and "Engi raku" are still handed down to Itsukushima Shrine from the latter period in the twelfth century.


The court dance and music introduced into Miyajima from Kyoto by Kiyomori Taira is dancing by the gagaku. Around 20 pieces including "Ryo-oh", "Nasori" "Manzai raku" and "Engi raku" are still handed down to Itsukushima Shrine from the latter period in the twelfth century.
The court dance and music is originally from India, Vietnam, China and the Korean Peninsura, but it does not exist any place other than Japan today.

Even it does not remain in India where is its birthplace, China, and the Korean Peninsura now. It is conserved in the Imperial Household Agency, Shitenno-ji Temple in Osaka, Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima and other several places in Japan.

About 1hour and 10minutes by Tram,35minutes by JR from HANA Hostel☆

Dec.31st(Fri.) Miyajima Chinka-sai

The Chinka-sai, Fire Prevention Festival, takes place

on the last day of the year in front of Itsukushima Shrine.

WHEN: December 31st (Fri.) from 6PM

WHERE: Miyajima Island

Local people make both large and small pine torches throughout the month of December.On the evening of the 31st, as twilight falls, families gather at the shore near the Otorii(Grand gate).

A fire torch is carried from the Shrine and all of the individual pine torches are lit. The larger pine torches are carried by 30-40 men on their shoulder's, while children carry smaller ones. As the torches intensely burn the coastline become a combination of fire and water as the people run about chanting "Yoi, Yoi." After the festival, the embers from the torches are offers to family alters as a good luck charm to prevent fire and to welcome the New Year.