The Major Annual Festival of Kasama Inari Shrine
April 9th is the legendary founding day of Kasama Inari Shrine (笠間稲荷神社). On this day every year, the Major Annual Festival (例大祭 Reitai-sai) is held by the shrine, and it is considered to be the shrine's most important event in the calendar year.
It was a cloudy but pleasant day between two stormy days when I visited the shrine. I think I was very lucky to have been able to see the Major Annual Festival. There are shuttle buses that run between the station and the shrine, but it is also worthwhile to take a 15-minute walk to see the houses and the scenery along the road, as Kasama is an old town famous for its ceramics for more than 200 years, since the Edo period. There are two main roads in front of the station that both lead to the shrine. I took the left one which was straight and wide, and enjoyed looking at the many local pottery shops and the authentic Japanese-style houses.
The ceremony had just begun when I got there a few minutes after 11 a.m. There were not many people there yet except for the special guests who were invited to attend the opening ceremony.
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The guests then proceeded into the shrine, and into the Hall of Worship, called "haiden (拝殿)" in Japanese, where rituals and dances were carried out to pray for good fortune in all areas of human life. Ritual offerings of incense and tea were also made there, together with offerings of famous sake from numerous local breweries in Ibaraki Prefecture.
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According to one of the shrine staff, there used to be free outdoor sake served to visitors at the festival, where people could have a taste of the various Japanese sake from Ibaraki. Unfortunately, the sake is now for display only (see below) due to the traffic regulations against drunk driving.
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However, there were still many things to enjoy within the shrine, such as exhibitions of flower arrangement (ikebana) and outdoor tea ceremonies, not to mention the tangible cultural asset, the Main Sanctuary, which was constructed during the Ansei-Manen eras (1854–1861) with delicate wood carvings of dragons and sceneries on it.
One thing that especially caught my attention was the signboard on the shrine, written "胡桃神社 (Kurumi Jinja—Walnut Shrine)", instead of "笠間神社 (Kasama Shrine)" as it is commonly known in the present day. According to the literature, Walnut Shrine is one of the nicknames created since the Edo period. The shrine received this nickname from the fact that the major deities were worshipped under the numerous walnut trees that grew inside the shrine at that time when it was established. It is also known as "胡桃下稲荷 (Kurumigashita Inari)", the Under-the-Walnut Inari Shrine. Interesting, isn't it?
Apart from the Major Annual Festival, there are also other interesting ceremonies held by the shrine every year, such as Rice Planting Festival (田植え Taue), Chrysanthemum Festival (菊祭り Kikumatsuri), Horseback Archery (流鏑馬 Yabusame), and so on.
Check out the past articles for more about Kasama:
