Sannō Festival (Hiyoshi Taisha)

山王祭(日吉大社)

The festival of Hiyoshi Taisha in Sakamoto, Ōtsu. On the night of the 12th, in the Uma no Shinji, mikoshi come down a steep slope from the inner shrine on Mount Hachiōji by torchlight alone; on the night of the 13th, in the Yoimiya-otoshi, four mikoshi are shaken violently and dropped from more than a metre; and on the 14th seven mikoshi go out onto Lake Biwa. The rites run over three days at the head shrine of all the Hiyoshi, Hie and Sannō shrines in Japan. 12 to 14 April every year.

12–14 April 2027

ExpectedWorked out from past dates. We update it once the organiser announces the dates.

159 days away

Every year, 12 April, for 3 days

Future dates: 12 April 2027 · 12 April 2028 · 12 April 2029

The Sannō Festival, Hiyoshi Taisha (Hiyoshi Taisha, official channel on YouTube)

Origin

Hiyoshi Taisha stands at the foot of Mount Hiei and is said to have been founded in the seventh year of Emperor Sujin; it is the head shrine of more than 3,800 Hiyoshi, Hie and Sannō shrines across Japan. It has been revered as guardian of the unlucky north-east of the Heian capital and, after Enryaku-ji was founded, as protector of the Tendai school. The festival’s rites are said to re-enact the marriage of Ōyamakui, god of the East Main Shrine, to his consort Kamotamayori-hime and the birth of their child; the procession of the 14th re-enacts the myth that Ōnamuchi, god of the West Main Shrine, came across Lake Biwa to Sakamoto from Ōmiwa Shrine in Yamato in the reign of Emperor Tenji.

What to look for

On the night of the 13th, in the Yoimiya-otoshi, the bearers, called kayochō, shake the four mikoshi lined up at the Yoimiya-ba all at once, and as the head of the festival committee reads the prayer they drop them to the ground from more than a metre. The shaking is said to be the god’s labour pains and the drop the moment of the child god’s birth; the mikoshi then race to the nearby Nezumi Shrine and go on to the West Main Shrine, where all seven come together. On the night of the 12th, in the Uma no Shinji, the mikoshi carried up to the inner shrine in early March come down a steep slope to the East Main Shrine by torchlight alone. On the afternoon of the 13th, children of about five in armour offer flowers in the Hana-watari. On the 14th, at the grand rite of the West Main Shrine, the head priest of the Tendai school comes from Enryaku-ji and chants the Heart Sutra; in the afternoon the seven mikoshi go through the town and out onto Lake Biwa, where five shrines of Zeze make the Awazu-no-goku offering on the water.

How to watch

At the grand rite of the 14th the Tendai head priest offers five-coloured nusa and reads the Heart Sutra before the gods, a strong survival of the blending of Shinto and Buddhism that otherwise ended after the Meiji era. On the 13th only bearers, guards, police and people wearing official armbands may go near the Yoimiya-ba; wearing a festival coat is not enough (2026). Follow police and guards when the area is controlled.

If you go

The Uma no Shinji is on 12 April and the Yoimiya-otoshi on the 13th, both beginning at about 6:30 p.m. with a reading at Shōgen-ji. On the 13th the standing area at the Yoimiya-ba fills, and entry is restricted when it becomes unsafe (from about 8 p.m. in 2026, with a public viewing screen in the car park of the former Chikurin-in). Hiyoshi Taisha also streams the nights of the 12th and 13th on YouTube. Roads around Sakamoto are restricted during the festival and the shrine asks visitors to come by public transport. Drivers can park at the Hamaōtsu public car park from the Ōtsu interchange of the Meishin Expressway and take the Keihan line from Biwako-Hamaōtsu to Sakamoto-Hieizanguchi.

Where

Hiyoshi Taisha

Ōtsu, Shiga

Open in maps

Sources

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