From August 8th to 11th, 2025, Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, a World Heritage Site in Kyoto's Kamigyo Ward, will hold a "Toori-nuke Shinto Ritual" (a ritual of passing through the stone room), a sacred area within the main hall, a designated National Treasure. There will also be a special exhibition of the "Wooden Demon Statues," an Important Cultural Property, allowing visitors to enjoy this precious space, which is normally off-limits to the public.
The stone room is a corridor connecting the palace dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane with the worship hall. Normally, visitors can only go as far as the worship hall, but a ritual of passing through is held every August to allow visitors to get up close to the enshrined deity.
During this event, demon statues made during the Heian period will also be on display in front of the palace. There are 12 standing statues and one seated statue, which were discovered deep within the main hall in 2002. They are said to have been enshrined as guardian deities at the major and minor intersections of Heian-kyo to ward off evil spirits entering the capital, and are said to be a valuable group of deities that convey the faith of the common people to the present day.
It will be open for four days only, from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm (last admission at 7:40 pm). The initial offering is 1,000 yen.
