🏮 Morotebune Shinji

諸手船神事

Matsue, Shimane (Miho Shrine) · Every year on 3 December

Traditional performing arts

80 days to go
Rooms around Matsue, Shimane fill up while the festival is on.

The Morotabune Shinji, held every December at Miho Shrine in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, is a ritual connected to the myth of the ceding of the land by Kotoshironushi no Mikoto as recorded in the Kojiki. It is performed together with the Aoshibagaki Shinji, and in former times was held on the day of the horse in the eleventh lunar month as the "Yaoho Festival." At the eve festival on December 2, amazake and other offerings are presented, and dances by the ritual officiant and miko dances are dedicated. On the main day, December 3, the Shinjo Festival is held in the morning, and from the afternoon the Morotabune ritual begins. After worshipping at Kyakujin Shrine, the participants split into two groups of nine and board the "Morotabune" boats, which resemble dugout canoes, and row out into Miho Bay. The two boats circle the harbor while splashing water at each other, and race toward the main hall carrying the "maken" sword ornament from the bow. The ritual concludes with the "Tenogyaku" hand-clapping, performed in unison with a dialogue with the chief priest. The Morotabune boats are designated an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property as they preserve ancient shipbuilding techniques.