[OKI Event] Gorei-furyū Festival (5th June every year)

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Tamawakasu-mikoto Shrine and a 2,000-year-old Japanese Ceder Tree

At this spectacular festival, witness eight deity carrying sacred horses gallop up to the shrine right before your eyes!

Gorei-furyū is held by the Tamawakasu-mikoto Shrine as one of the three major festivals of Dōgo Island along with Mura-furyū held in Nakamura and Mizuwakasu Shrine-sairei-furyū held in Goka. The shrine is the main general shrine of the Oki Islands, and was constructed in a unique architectural style called Oki-zukuri.

The most exciting part of this festival is when horses carrying deities from eight different areas gallop up through the shrine gates (‘Uma-ire-shinji’ in Japanese).

Important notice:

Do not cross the road while the procession is walking.
Do not touch horses and people that are with them. They are believed to be servants of deities, that are carried by the horses.
Do not stand behind a horse, due to the danger of being seriously injured.

Event Information

Date: 5th June 2019

Time: 10:00 Honden-sai (Urayasu-mai Shintō Dance)

11:00 A horse from Kamo area arrives at Tamawakasu-mikoto Shrine

14:00 Tōgō-sajiki, In front of public housings

14:30-15:00 Uma-ire-shinji (horses run through the shrine grounds)

15:00 Shinkō-sai, the processions depart from the shrine to Otoko-yama hill

Taue-shiki (a rice-planting ritual)

Yabusame (horseback archery)

Shinme-keiba (horse racing)

17:00 End of the festival

Place: Tamawakasu-mikoto Shrine

Access: 5 min by car from Saigō Port (Parking: Okinoshima Town Hall, Oki Culture Centre)
By bus from Saigō Port, get off at “Yakuba-mae” and walk for 15 min

For more information on Tamawakasu-mikoto Shrine

For more information on Oki Islands