🏮 Futami Meoto Iwa Oo Shimenawa Hari Shinji

二見夫婦岩大注連縄張神事

Ise, Mie (Futami Okitama Shrine) · Every year in mid December

Traditional performing arts

92 days to go
Rooms around Ise, Mie fill up while the festival is on.

At Futami Okitama Shrine in Ise, Mie Prefecture, the Futami Meoto Iwa Oshimenawa Harishinji is held every year on a Saturday and Sunday in mid-December. The great shimenawa (sacred rope) strung between the Meoto Iwa rocks is replaced three times a year, and this ritual is the replacement carried out in December. The Meoto Iwa rocks serve as the Okitama Shingyo stone, connected to the shrine's deity Sarutahiko Okami, and as a torii gate for worshipping the sun deity from afar. The great shimenawa used are five ropes, each weighing 40 kg, 10 cm thick, and 35 m long; the purified ropes are stretched across to the Meoto Iwa rocks by the hands of parishioners amid lively kiyari songs. Worshippers can also take part by passing the rope hand-to-hand from the approach path, and since the date changes each year depending on the tides, it is best to inquire in advance.

Getting there

About 15 minutes on foot from Futaminoura Station on the JR Sangū Line. From Ise-shi Station on the JR and Kintetsu lines, or Ujiyamada Station on the Kintetsu line, take the bus bound for Toba for about 20 minutes, get off at Meoto Iwa Higashiguchi, and walk about 5 minutes.