Kayashima Shrine Summer Matsuri (July 27, 2025) / 萱島神社夏祭り（2025年7月27日） / PLUS! A Surprise Bonus! / さらに！サプライズボーナス！

A HOT early Sunday afternoon, the deafening sound of the cicadas on the cherry tress that line the small stream behind out house, and the sound of shouting and taiko drums approaching... "Washai! Washai!" This is the parade of the Kayashima Shrine Summer Festival mikoshi (portable shrine). There are two mikoshi this year, a small, light one hoisted by children and a large one in the back of a truck along with a taiko drum. During this parade, the local deity of the shrine is temporarily transferred to the mikoshi so that it can bestow blessings to all as it moves through the neighborhood. In the past, the mikoshi was hoisted by an army of hot, sweaty men and women. These days, due to the dwindling number of children and elderly people (as a result of the low birth rate and aging society), COVID-19 (durimg the pandemic years) and the sweltering hot tempertures, the number of participants is low and the truck is used. It is a very different scene than it was several years ago, as can be seen here in 2013:

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2013/07/local-matsuri-i-mikoshi.html

and here in 2014:

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2014/08/local-matsuri-2014-edition.html

But still, the festival goes on...

BONUS: Mushrooms on the cherry trees (I actually noticed these a month ago)...

Kayashima Summer Festival (July, 2023)

First visit to Kayashima Shrine for the New Year 2023

Kayashima Shrine is famous because there is a train station right above it. The kami-deity associated with the shrine resides in a large 700 year old Camphor tree. When the train station was being built, the tree could not simply be cut down. Thus the station was built around it. The tree/kami is seen as especially powerful. Many people claim their wishes have come true after praying and giving a small cash offering. The shrine is small but contains a lot of interesting sights.

See also「Ringing in Reiwa 2 @ Kayashima Jinja」
https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2020/01/ringing-in-reiwa-2-kayashima-jinja.html

Ringing in Reiwa 2 @ Kayashima Jinja

BONUS! SHOTS (because it takes a little jalan jalan to get to the shrine...)

Remains of the 2018 Kayashima Shrine Tondo Festival

Kayashima Shrine (萱島神社) conducted its Tondo Festival (とんど祭り) on January 15, to coincide with ko-shogatsu (小正月), or "small new year" - ko-shogatsu is a holdover from the time when Japan used a lunar calendar. This festival has many names (Dondo yaki - どんど焼き - is a common name but there are many others) and local variations. At the Tondo festival, shimekazari (a traditional New Years decoration hanged at the entrance to a house), omamori (good luck charms), ofuda (talisman), ema (votive tablets) as well as other religious or new year's related ornaments are burned. This is in effect a sort of recycling - these various ornaments are returned after a year or so of use and new ones are purchased.

I have previously written about the Tondo festival at the Shinto shrine in my neighborhood. (It is actually one of my favorite VAOJ posts - check it out!)

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Tondo Festival - とんど祭り, posted January 16, 2013.

I missed the actual burning this morning but I was able to see the ashes/remains when I visited the shrine in the afternoon. The religious paraphernalia were burned in the metal barrel and she ashes were occasionally dumped when needed. It seems that from the size of the ash heap many items were burned.

Here is a close-up of the remains in the barrel. A couple items seems to have been deposited after the burning ended.

These boxes placed by the entrance are for non-burnable items.

You can see some of the items deposited in the boxes. The mikan oranges were most likely a part of the shimekazari.

The Kayashima shrine is famous because there is a train station right above it. The kami-deity associated with the shrine resides in a large 700 year old Camphor tree. When the train station was being built, the tree could not simply be cut down. Thus the station was built around it.

The tree/kami is seen as especially powerful. Many people claim their wishes have come true after praying and giving a small cash offering. The shrine is small but contains a lot of interesting sights.

2018 is the Year of the Dog so it seems appropriate that the shrine would have this public service request: Please take your dog's poop home.

Previous VAOJ posts on the summer festival at the Kayashima shrine:

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Local Matsuri I: The Mikoshi, posted July 30, 2013.

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Local Matsuri II: Evening Activities, posted July 31, 2013.

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Local Matsuri III: Tamago Senbei, posted August 1, 2013.

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Local Matsuri IV: People, posted August 2, 2013.

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Local Matsuri V: くわしく, posted August 3, 2013.

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Local Matsuri, 2014 Edition, posted August 17, 2014.