On July 30, locals traditionally celebrate the Sumiyoshi Matsuri Festival. All the events within its framework are held in the above-mentioned temple (Sumiyoshi Taisha). It is the last carnival of the summer season. The festival itself is a fancy-dress parade with street musicians and mikoshi (traditional palanquins in which “kami” spirits are believed to live). The weight of some mikoshi can even reach 1800 kilograms, so cars are essential for their transportation. It is worth noting that this is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in all of Japan.
Sinno-sai Matsuri is another Japanese religious holiday, and the god of healing takes up the baton this time. The holiday owes its appearance to the epidemic of cholera that broke out in 1822. As the legend says, the god Sinno helped to cope with the disease by presenting a medicine in a tiger-shaped Paper Mache box to a local temple. It was made of tiger bones. Today, locals pay tribute to this event with their colorful costumed processions with mikoshi. Parade participants throw toy tigers traditionally made from the same material into the crowd. The holiday falls on November 22.
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