On March 3, 2025, the Girls' Festival, the traditional "Nagashibina" event was held at Kamigamo Shrine in Kita Ward, Kyoto City. As the rain drizzled, priests and worshippers floated paper dolls down a stream, praying for health and prosperity.
This event involves transferring misfortune and impurities to dolls and letting them float down the river. It is said to be the origin of modern-day Hina dolls.
On this day, the "Peach Blossom Ceremony" took place at 10 a.m. in the main shrine. Offerings of peaches, magnolia blossoms, and kusamochi were made before the altar, and prayers were made for the peace and prosperity of the nation.
Then, priests, shrine maidens, and worshippers gently floated the dolls, on which they had written their wishes, down the clear stream of the "Nara River" in the shrine grounds. Some parents and children were there, praying for their children's healthy growth.
The "Yutate Kagura" dance, in which shrine maidens sprinkle boiling water on bamboo leaves to pray for good health, was scheduled to take place at 11:00 a.m., but was unfortunately cancelled due to rain.
