🏮 Kokufu Sai

国府祭

Oiso, Kanagawa (六所神社) · Every year on 5 May

MikoshiTraditional performing arts

233 days to go
Rooms around Oiso, Kanagawa fill up while the festival is on.

Kunofu Matsuri is a Sōsha festival of Sagami Province held every year on May 5 in Kōnohongō, Ōiso Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, and is a Kanagawa Prefecture-designated intangible folk cultural property. The mikoshi (portable shrines) of Ichinomiya's Samukawa Shrine, Ninomiya's Kawawa Shrine, Sannomiya's Hihita Shrine, Yonomiya's Maetori Shrine, Gonomiya's Hiratsuka Hachimangū, and the Sōsha's Rokusho Shrine gather at Kamiyoriyama and Ōyaba (present-day Baba Park), praying for peace throughout the realm and a bountiful harvest of the five grains. In ancient times it was called the Tango Festival or Tenka Festival, and the Shinpen Sagami no Kuni Fudoki Kō records a tradition that it began during the Yōrō era (717–724); since it also appears in the Azuma Kagami, it is thought to have been established by the 11th century. It was formerly held on February 4, but was moved to May 5 in Kōan 5 (1282). The centerpiece of the festival is the “zadialog” at Kamiyoriyama, a Shinto ritual in which Ichinomiya and Ninomiya silently bring a tiger-skin to the altar and contend over seating precedence, and Sannomiya's Hihita Shrine arbitrates with the words “until next year.” Afterwards, with the mikoshi of Rokusho Shrine at the center, the procession heads to Ōyaba, where the “Sagi no Mai” (Heron Dance) is performed on a boat-shaped stage. The Heron Dance, Dragon Dance, and Lion Dance each pray for peace throughout the realm, a bountiful harvest, and the elimination of disasters, and the festival ends after the Shin Tai Men Shinji (deity face-to-face ritual) and the Kokushi Hōhei no Gi (provincial governor's offering ritual).

Getting there

From the north exit of JR Tōkaidō Line “Ninomiya Station,” take the bus bound for “Kōdai” and get off at the terminal stop, then walk 5 minutes. Alternatively, about 10 minutes by taxi from JR “Ōiso Station.”