Shikoku · Kōchi · Niyodogawa
Akiba Festival
秋葉まつり
The festival of Akiba Shrine in Besshi, in the mountains of Niyodogawa, Kōchi. A portable shrine and a procession of about 200 people spend the whole day on a 3 km mountain path, calling at the shrine, temple and houses linked to the god. The highlight is torige-hineri, the tossing of long feather-topped poles, and the festival is counted among the three great festivals of Tosa. 11 February every year.
Next
11 February 2027
RegularWorked out from the organiser’s fixed schedule.
100 days away
Every year, 11 February
Future dates: 11 February 2027 · 11 February 2028 · 11 February 2029
Origin
Akiba Shrine enshrines Homusubi, a fire god worshipped for protection against fire. According to the shrine’s story, Satō Seigan, a warrior of the defeated Heike clan, brought the god from Mount Akiba in Tōtōmi (today’s Shizuoka) and worshipped it at Iwaya; it was later kept at Hōsen-ji temple and then by the Ichikawa family, keepers of the local checkpoint. When the god moved from the Ichikawa house to the present shrine in 1794, it was decided that each year it would visit the places linked to it: Iwaya Shrine, the Ichikawa house, Hōsen-ji and the Nakagoshi house. The festival used to fall on the 18th day of the first lunar month; it is now held on 11 February, National Foundation Day. It is designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Kōchi Prefecture.
What to look for
The highlight is torige-hineri: feather-topped poles about 7 m long and weighing about 8 kg are thrown to a partner some distance away. On the narrow lanes in front of the Ōishi house and beside the Nakagoshi house, throwing them far and high and catching them cleanly takes nerve and skill, and each group makes these its showpiece. The procession is led by a long-nosed mask and moves to flutes, drums and gongs, and performers from the three villages of Honmura, Kirinokubo and Sawatari gather to the sound of conch shells. At each stop they perform the feather-pole throwing and neri, the tachi-odori sword dance with real blades, and kagura.
The Akiba Festival (Niyodogawa Town, official channel on YouTube)
How to watch
The festival is a divine procession: the god of Akiba Shrine rides in the portable shrine to visit the shrine, temple and houses linked to it. The procession follows the same route every year, and at each stop the groups make their offerings in that year’s order. At the end the god is returned to Akiba Shrine, and all the participants walk around the shrine hall together to close the day.
If you go
The procession leaves Iwaya Shrine at about 8:30 a.m., calls at the Ichikawa house, the front of the Ōishi house, Hōsen-ji and the Nakagoshi house, and enters Akiba Shrine in the afternoon. Besshi lies deep in the Shikoku mountains, and the procession takes the whole day to cover its 3 km mountain route.
Where
Akiba Shrine, Besshi
Niyodogawa, Kōchi
Open in mapsSources