This visit happened to coincide with Daigoji Temple’s annual “Godairiki-san” (Godairiki Son Ninnō-e), so even though it wasn’t cherry blossom season, I made a special trip to attend. Not only does this festival have a history spanning more than a thousand years, but it is also one of Daigoji Temple’s most important annual events. When traveling in Japan, most traditional festivals visitors encounter are Shinto rituals held at shrines, so having the chance to personally experience a large-scale Buddhist prayer service at a temple was quite rare.
The Godairiki Son Ninnō-e mainly offers prayers for peace throughout the country, the happiness of its people, and protection from misfortune. Before the main festival, Daigoji Temple holds seven consecutive days of preliminary services, with monks chanting sutras and offering prayers. On the day of the festival, visitors receive blessed “Godairiki Son sacred images,” a type of talisman believed to ward off disasters and prevent theft. They can be seen posted at the entrances of many long-established shops and private homes in Kyoto. Many people were also lined up to receive one that day, and seeing the long line almost made me want to join it.
One of the festival’s most distinctive events is the “Mochi-Lifting Strength Offering” held in front of the Kondo Hall. Participants must lift enormous red-and-white kagami mochi and compete to see how long they can hold them, offering their strength to the Five Great Wisdom Kings and praying for good health and protection from misfortune. The competition has divisions for elementary school students, men, and women. I looked it up afterward, and the kagami mochi used at the event really are heavy: 150 kilograms for the men’s division and 90 kilograms for the women’s division. They certainly aren’t easy to lift, though I’m not sure whether advance registration is required for the event.
There were also many large kagami mochi specially offered by worshippers in front of the Kondo Hall. The sight of them arranged neatly in rows was quite impressive. These were all offerings made specifically for the Godairiki Son Ninnō-e. Seeing the enormous kagami mochi lined up one after another in front of the hall also showed just how important this festival is to local worshippers.
In front of Fudo Hall, a saitō goma prayer ceremony was held, during which monks offered prayers by burning wooden goma sticks. From sutra-chanting services and the goma ritual to the lively mochi-lifting event, being able to see several different forms of Buddhist prayer rituals at once is one of the things that makes this festival so distinctive.
In addition to the religious activities, there were plenty of seasonal products and food stalls around the temple grounds, including five-colored sweets, a limited-edition genmaicha created in collaboration between Daigoji Temple and Ito En, and complimentary heian-gayu rice porridge for worshippers. These added a livelier, more festive atmosphere to the event. The item most worth noting was the Godairiki mochi sold only during the festival. It is basically a type of mochi. I bought two bags at the time, planning to take them back to Taiwan and slowly grill them to eat. I even bought a special rack for grilling mochi, but unexpectedly, all of them were moldy the day after I returned home! If I’d known, I would have grilled them in the hotel kitchenette while I was still in Japan. The grilling rack ended up being a wasted purchase too, which was really frustrating QQ.
Overall, the Godairiki Son Ninnō-e is a large-scale event combining religious culture, traditional rituals, and the character of a local festival. It offers a different experience from the Japanese shrine festivals that most tourists are more familiar with. If you have the chance to catch it, it is well worth making a special trip to Daigoji Temple to experience this traditional festival that has continued for a thousand years.
