Shinkō-sai

Shinkō-sai is a Shintō festival that typically occurs on the day of the Annual Festival. It involves a procession where miniature shrines, called mikoshi, are carried on people's shoulders through the community. This event is part of a larger festival that includes purification rites, adoration, presentation of food offerings (excluding meat due to a taboo on shedding blood), prayers recited by the chief priest, sacred music and dance, and a final feast called naorai. The naorai custom symbolizes communion with the kami (deity) through shared food or sake. Shintō festivals, or matsuri, are held several times a year, and while people can visit shrines at their convenience, these festivals are significant occasions for worship and prayer.12