As a prelude to the Aoi Festival (May 15th), the Mikage Festival was held on May 12th, 2024 to welcome newly born divine spirits to Shimogamo Shrine (Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City). In the precincts' Tadasu no Mori, a dance performance called Azuma Asobi was performed to praise the gods.
On this day, just after 11 a.m., a Shinto priest wearing a Futaba mallow in his crown solemnly performed a ritual at Mikage Shrine in Kamikono, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City. After the Shinto priests and parishioners stopped by Akanomiya Shrine, a shrine outside the precincts, the divine spirit was transferred onto a Shinme horse, and a procession of about 260 people headed south along Shimogamo Hondori Street under cloudy skies.
The group arrived at Shimogamo Shrine around 3:30 p.m. and proceeded through the Tadasu Forest surrounded by fresh greenery. The ritual was held at Kirishiba, the sacred precinct, where six maibito danced gracefully in front of a sacred horse that received divine spirits while gagaku music echoed.
The carried divine spirit unites with the enshrined deity at the main shrine and welcomes the day of the Aoi Festival.
