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🏮 Nishigata Mizukake Matsuri

西方水かけまつり

Miharu, Fukushima (Shiogama Shrine) · Every year on 1 January

109 days to go
Rooms around Miharu, Fukushima fill up while the festival is on.

The Nishikata Water-Throwing Festival is held every year on January 1 around Shiogama Shrine in Miharu Town, Fukushima Prefecture. It is an ancient misogi (purification) rite held to pray for freedom from illness and good health, prosperity of descendants, and a bountiful harvest of the five grains. In this festival, which involves the Nishikata District Youth Association, participants throw water on each other vigorously and offer prayers for the New Year. This festival is a traditional small New Year event long passed down in the Nishikata district, and was originally held on January 15, but it has now been moved to New Year's Day. According to legend, it is said to have been started by Chiba Kii-no-kami, the lord of Nishikata Castle, who was known as a military commander of the Tamura clan at Miharu Castle during the Tensho era, in order to raise the morale of the people of his domain. The highlight is the brave sight of participants vigorously throwing well water on each other. Because when the water they throw runs out they even use muddy water, it is also called the Mud-Throwing Festival, and one can experience a unique atmosphere in which ancient prayers and fierce energy are intermingled.