On July 30, 2024, the annual Minazuki Festival was held in the Asamogawa area of Amino Town, Kyotango City, Kyoto Prefecture, where the locals carried mikoshi (portable shrines) and paraded through the sea in a ritual called "Umijo Togyo." The vigor of the mikoshi, splashing water as they were carried, drew cheers from the many spectators.
The festival, which prays for the purification of the river, is also known as the "Kawasuso Festival." At 1:30 p.m., about 140 men left Hiyoshi Shrine carrying mikoshi. They rang a large bell attached to the end of a thick pole called a tokketsu, and as the sound of drums echoed throughout the area, the men paraded through the area shouting "Josajya!"
The highlight of the event was the sea parade, in which men carrying mikoshi (portable shrines) waded into the water up to their waists as they headed out to sea, then made a heroic lap around a shrine set up on the sea three times. In a nod to the local legend of Urashima, the men also carried young single men and women playing the roles of Urashima Taro and Otohime on "turtle mikoshi" (portable shrines decorated with sea turtles), drawing thunderous applause from the spectators.
