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A spirited autumn festival in Nada, where luxurious portable shrines collide within the shrine grounds.
The annual autumn festival is held on October 14th and 15th at Matsubara Hachiman Shrine in Shirahama Town, Himeji City. Known as one of the "Three Great Wild Portable Shrine Festivals" in Japan, the festival involves participants from the "Former Seven Villages," which are the seven coastal regions in the southeastern part of the city, part of the shrine's parishioners.
On the evening of the 14th, during the eve festival, elaborately decorated floats depart from each district in the early morning. After parading through the town, they enter the shrine grounds in a predetermined order. The 15th is the main festival day. The entourage of the district serving as the year's lead purifies themselves in the sea before violently crashing three portable shrines against each other in front of the worship hall and the tower gate, accompanied by vigorous chants. The powerful scenes justify calling it a "fighting festival." Additionally, there's a procession at Otabiyama, about 1 km away from the shrine, followed by a ritual at the mountain's summit. The sight of the portable shrines and floats racing up the steep slope towards the summit is also a sight to behold.
The intense clash of the portable shrines
Seven floats enter through the tower gate one after another
