🏮 Ogane Shinji

御願神事

Kaga, Ishikawa (Sugao Ishibe Shrine) · Every year on 10 February

149 days to go
Rooms around Kaga, Ishikawa fill up while the festival is on.

The Gongan Shinji, held every year on February 10 at Sugoishibe Shrine in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture, is known locally as "Gongan-san" or "Takewari Matsuri" (Bamboo-Splitting Festival) and has been familiar to locals since ancient times as a brave Shinto ritual. This ritual is said to originate from a vow made in 677 (during the reign of Emperor Tenmu) for the safety and prosperity of the nation, and was begun to emulate the battle between the divine armies of Yamasachihiko (Hoderi) and Uminosachihiko (Hosuseri), with the purpose of remembering conflict even in peaceful times and upholding the way of the warrior. On the day, young men in white garments bring 300 to 400 green bamboo stalks into the shrine grounds and split them by striking them against stone steps and stone paving. When most of the bamboo is split, a large rope representing a giant serpent is dragged out from the worship hall and thrown from a bridge into the Daishoji River. The split bamboo can be taken home by spectators, and legends remain that making a kite from it makes it fly well, and making chopsticks from it cures illness.

Getting there

From Kaga Onsen Station, take the Kaga sightseeing bus "Canbus" sea route and get off at the "30 Sugoishibe Shrine" bus stop, immediately nearby. Alternatively, take the IR Ishikawa Railway Line to Daishoji Station and walk about 1.7 km.