Participating in Shrine’s Festival as Carriers of “Mikoshi”
At Shingu-jinja Shrine in Shiga where our Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) is located, a regular festival named reisai was held on May 3, 2016.
It is said that Shingu-jinja Shrine was originally established in year 730 and its main sanctuary built in the ikkensha-nagare-zukuri (a style of main shrine building that has a small one-bay sanctuary) is famous as one of the national important cultural properties.
In the past few years, international students (Thai, Vietnamese and China) at BKC and graduate students of Graduate School of Sport and Health Science participate in the festival to carry Mikoshi (portable shrines), thanks to the courtesy of the people in Noji Town Association.
More than 200 people including Ritsumeikan students left the shrine at 11:00 a.m. carrying four portable shrines to Otabisho, where the portable shrines are temporarily placed (in order that the god of the shrine takes a break) and returned back to the shrine around 4:00 p.m.
During several breaks between the shrine and Otabisho, the students interacted with the local residents while enjoying the beverages, light meals and some fruits served by the people from Noji Town Association.
For the students, especially for the international students, this was a precious opportunity to learn about Japanese and regional cultures as well as have interaction with local residents. Many thanks for the people of Noji Town!