Danjiri-Bune Festival of Sunari Matsuri Festival, and Miyoshi Nagashi
July to October, Amagun (Aichi prefecture)
The ritual continues for three months from the start of July, and it consists of the parade of beautiful Danjiri-bune floats and “Miyoshi Nagashi”, which is the ritual of putting all impurities on yoshi (one kind of a reed) and floating them on the river.
The Danjiri Floats of Sunari Festival are made of a two-floor house and a three-tiered stage on a plank on two boats lined up in parallel. The floats in Yoi-Matsuri are decorated with numerous lanterns and called “the Makiwara ship”. The lanterns on the top pillar of the float are 12, which represent the days and months of a year, and below the pillar, the other 365 lanterns are put in the shape of a hemisphere.
On the other hand, about Miyoshi Nagashi, several rituals are held to prepare the yoshi until the main ritual. In "Yoshikari-junbi" (preparation for mowing yoshi), people cook Chimaki rice balls and prepare tools for mowing Yoshi. The Yoshikari (mowing yoshi) is held on the next day, and people get the sacred yoshi of lake of Kamegaike in Yatomi City around the downstream of Kanie River.
“Yoshi-zoroe” is the ritual of cutting yoshi in the same size and making 4 bundles of yoshi. They are called “Omiyoshi-sama”, which are the offering for the shrine. Then, the next day of Yoshi-zoroe is “Yoshi Nagashi”, the main ritual of Miyoshi Nagashi. Matsuri Sanyaku (three important managers of this festival) and young men involving the series of rituals carry the yoshi bundles to Kanie River and put the bundles on boats in the form of a cross. The amulet which is burdened with all impurities of this year is set on the center of the cross, and people float these boats on the river.
Seven days after Yoshi Nagashi, in the ritual called “Tana Agari”, the Miyoshi, the crossed yoshi bundles with the amulet on the boats are retrieved and enshrined on the sacred shelf with lanterns and offering food. Until 70 days passed from Tana Agari, people living in surrounding areas need to worship the Miyoshi every day. The final ritual of the series of this long ceremony is “Tana Oroshi”, in which people unload the Miyoshi from the shelf and burn them at the shrine.
- Organizer:
- Sunari Bunka Hogo Iinkai
- Contact Details
- 〒496-0857
- Aichi Amagun Kanie-cho Ohji Sunari Ukawa Nishinari 371 2F
- TEL：0567-58-1360
- Website
- Kanie Town Tourism and Urban Development Portal Site Sunari Festival
- http://www.kaninavi.jp/html/sunari/
