🏮 Geeta Sai

ゲーター祭

Toba, Mie (Yatsushiro Shrine) · Every year on 1 January

109 days to go
Rooms around Toba, Mie fill up while the festival is on.

The Geta Festival, a New Year event held on Kamishima in Toba, Mie Prefecture, from New Year's Eve to New Year's Day, is a precious folk cultural property designated by the prefecture. It has taken root in the community as a traditional festival in which fishermen pray for a bountiful catch and a good harvest. On the night of New Year's Eve, a ring about 15 centimeters thick and 2 meters in diameter is made from a gumi tree, and an "awa," wrapped in white paper and hemp and resembling the sun, is prepared, along with a "saba," a about 25-centimeter mochi tree carved into twelve angles and marked with 365 notches. As dawn approaches, the men thrust the awa with a long female bamboo pole tipped with a paper spear, raising it high into the sky. After continuing to thrust it for 20 to 30 minutes, the awa is slammed to the ground. Theories about its origin include one of praying for the resurrection of the sun and another concerning a ritual for the dragon god, a female deity. Another highlight of the festival is the fierce scramble over the "saba" that takes place on the beach. The saba, said to bestow a bountiful catch, is thrown into a crowd of young men, and the scene is filled with powerful shouts and excitement. The thrusting up of the awa and the contest over the saba are precious events that convey Kamishima's old fishing culture today.

Getting there

Kamishima-cho, Toba. From Toba Marine Terminal, take the town-operated boat bound for Kamishima, get off at Kamishima Port, and walk a short distance.