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🏮 Shirakawa Go Doburoku Matsuri

白川郷どぶろく祭

Shirakawa, Gifu (Shirakawa Hachimangu Shrine, Hatogaya Hachiman Shrine and Iijima Hachiman Shrine) · Every year on 14 October

MikoshiTraditional performing arts

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The Doburoku Festival is held in each of the three districts of Shirakawa Hachiman Shrine, Hatogaya Hachiman Shrine, and Iijima Hachiman Shrine in Shirakawa Village every year from late September through October. It is a historic festival offering prayers to the mountain gods for a bountiful harvest, family safety, and peace in the village, and its most distinctive feature is that doburoku is offered as sacred sake and also served to attendees. Doburoku is said to have been used for ritual purposes since around the Wado era (about 1,300 years ago), and from late January it is brewed in shrine sake storehouses buried in snow using ancient techniques. At the festival, in addition to a procession of the deity and lion dances, folk songs and dances such as "Kodaijin" and "Shirakawa Okesa" are performed as offerings. The songs are the same in each settlement, but the dances differ, which is also a highlight. After the "Doburoku Ritual" at around 3:00 p.m., the richly fragrant doburoku is poured into cups, and the festival reaches its climax.

Getting there

On the festival day for Shirakawa Hachiman Shrine, head to the village-run Seseragi Park parking lot and follow the instructions of the staff. On the festival days for Hatogaya Hachiman Shrine and Iijima Hachiman Shrine, each shrine has its own parking lot.