On October 12, 2025, the Shinko Festival, a prayer for a bountiful harvest, was held in the area around Kijima Shrine in Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City. This year, international students from Kyoto University of Advanced Science (Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City) participated for the first time as mikoshi (portable shrine) carriers, working hard alongside local residents and blending into the community.
At the Shinko Festival, which is held every autumn, male parishioners take turns carrying the approximately one-ton mikoshi (portable shrine) around the Uzumasa area.
With a declining birthrate and aging population and the weakening of local communities, parishioner groups were struggling to find carriers, when the university, which has a male student dormitory in the area, offered to participate, and they readily accepted.
On this day, seven international students from six countries, including India, France, and Kazakhstan, carried the mikoshi and paraded around the shrine, chanting "Wasshoi, Wasshoi" (Wasshoi!) alongside approximately 150 parishioners.
The tour took about six hours, from main roads to residential areas, and included occasional shoulder massages with elderly parishioners. Yu Than (28), a graduate student from Myanmar, said, "My shoulders hurt, but I'm happy to have been warmly welcomed by the local people."
