🏮 Godairikison Nioue

五大力尊仁王会

Kyoto (Daigoji Temple) · Every year on 23 February

162 days to go
Rooms around Kyoto fill up while the festival is on.

Every year on February 23, the Godairiki Sonnoe, affectionately known as "Godairiki-san," is held at Daigoji Temple in Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. This event seeks the power of the Five Great Myoo (such as Fudo Myoo) and prays for national peace and the happiness of the people through the Five Great Bodhisattvas, who are their incarnations. Its history dates back to the era of Emperor Daigo in 907 AD. On the day, the Ninnokai ceremony is held all day in the Kondō (Main Hall), a National Treasure, and miei (protective images) for warding off theft and misfortune are distributed. Hundreds of thousands of people visit from all over Japan, and inside the Kondō, participants receive power directly by grasping a sacred sword in the "naisan" (inner worship), and a dedication mochi-lifting competition is held where men compete to lift a 150-kg and women a 90-kg large red-and-white Kagami Mochi (stacked rice cakes). Additionally, from February 15 to 21, a Godairiki preliminary ceremony is conducted by over a thousand monks and Shugendō practitioners in the Kondō, connecting prayers to the main festival on the 23rd.

Getting there

About a 10-minute walk from Daigo Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Tōzai Line. Alternatively, from JR Kyoto Station, take a Keihan Bus and get off at Daigoji-mae, immediately there.