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Information on the Mitarashi Festival (foot-soaking ritual)
Inoue Shrine (Mitarai Shrine)
It is called Inoue Shrine because it is enshrined on top of a well (also known as Mitarai Shrine).
In the Mitarai pond in front of the shrine, the Saio-dai purification ritual (misogi ceremony) is performed during the Kamo Festival (Aoi Festival), and the "foot-soaking ritual" (Mitarai Festival: annual festival) is held on the day of the Ox during the Doyo period.
It is said that Mitarashi dango are shaped like the bubbles bubbling up from the bottom of Mitarai Pond.
Event Schedule
July 19th (Friday) – 28th (Sunday), 2024
Fee
Lighting fee: Adults 500 yen, Junior high school students and younger donate
time
9:00-20:00
This year's Mitarai Shrine Festival (Doyō no Ushi no Hi) will be held on July 24th at 10am.
The outdoor stalls are scheduled to be set up on July 19th, 20th, 21st, 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th.
Mitarai Pond is counted as one of the Seven Wonders of Ducks because clear water springs up from around the pond and from the bottom of the river during the doyo period in July.
Mitarai Pond
About the flow of the Mitarashi Festival
1) Please make a lantern offering at the reception desk on the east side of the tower gate (500 yen for adults, junior high school students and younger)
②You will receive a shoe bag at the shoe-changing area.
③ Take off your shoes and socks at the shoe area.
④We will hand you a candle, so please collect it there.
⑤Go down the slope and enter the pond (please refrain from stopping to take photos)
⑥Climb up the pond, light the candle you are holding at the lantern stand, and offer the lantern.
⑦ After coming out of the pond, put on your shoes at the shoe changing area. (This is not a resting area. People will be coming out of the pond one after another, so please move on promptly after putting on your shoes.)
⑧ Drink the holy water (there are two ways to do this: either in a paper cup at an unmanned water fountain, or in a ceramic cup at a manned water fountain).
1) Please make a lantern offering at the reception desk on the east side of the tower gate (500 yen for adults, junior high school students and younger)
② You will receive a shoe bag at the shoe-changing area. ③ Take off your shoes and socks at the shoe-changing area.
④We will hand you a candle, so please collect it there.
⑤Go down the slope and enter the pond (please refrain from stopping to take photos)
⑥Climb up the pond, light the candle you are holding at the lantern stand, and offer the lantern.
⑦ After coming out of the pond, put on your shoes at the shoe changing area. (This is not a resting area. People will be coming out of the pond one after another, so please move on promptly after putting on your shoes.)
⑧ Drink the holy water (there are two ways to do this: either in a paper cup at an unmanned water fountain, or in a ceramic cup at a manned water fountain).
Traditionally, when the water comes out of the pond, shrine officials would personally bestow the sacred water on the worshippers, but this was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, paper cups were prepared and worshippers were free to fill and drink the water flowing out of a bamboo tube.
This year, the event will basically be the same as it was before the COVID-19 pandemic, with some attendees being free to drink from paper cups.
The summer market (stalls run by shrine-related businesses; separate from the street stalls) that is usually held on the south side of the tower gate will also be held.
Additionally, announcements about the shrine grounds and religious ceremonies, which were previously made by staff, have been made by voice actors Shinichiro Miki and Miyuki Sawashiro this year (recorded audio).
Traditionally, when the water comes out of the pond, shrine officials would personally bestow the sacred water on the worshippers, but this was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, paper cups were prepared and worshippers were free to fill and drink the water flowing out of a bamboo tube.
This year, the event will basically be the same as it was before the COVID-19 pandemic, with some attendees being free to drink from paper cups.
The summer market (stalls run by shrine-related businesses; separate from the street stalls) that is usually held on the south side of the tower gate will also be held.
Additionally, announcements about the shrine grounds and religious ceremonies, which were previously made by staff, have been made by voice actors Shinichiro Miki and Miyuki Sawashiro this year (recorded audio).
Go down the Mizuzaka slope and enter the pond (please refrain from stopping to take photos)
Slowly move forward while immersed in water up to the knees. Slowly move forward while immersed in water up to the knees.
Go down the Mizuzaka slope and enter the pond (please refrain from stopping to take photos)
Slowly move forward while immersed in water up to the knees. Slowly move forward while immersed in water up to the knees.
You will be given a candle, so please pick it up there. With the candle in hand, you will enter the pond.
Offer candles at the Mitarai Shrine (Inoue Shrine). Walk up the pond, light the candle you have at the offering stand, and offer it as an offering.
The ritual ends with drinking holy water (there are two ways to do this: either drink from a paper cup at an unmanned water fountain, or drink from a ceramic vessel at a manned water fountain).
The ritual ends with drinking holy water (there are two ways to do this: either drink from a paper cup at an unmanned water fountain, or drink from a ceramic vessel at a manned water fountain).
It is believed that if you dip your feet in the pure water of this pond on Doyo no Ushi Day, you will be protected from epidemics and beriberi, and today the pond is bustling all day for 10 days before and after Doyo no Ushi Day, when the "Foot-Soaking Ceremony (Mitarai Festival)" is held, where people pray for good health and to ward off cancer.
It is believed that if you dip your feet in the pure water of this pond on Doyo no Ushi Day, you will be protected from epidemics and beriberi, and today the pond is bustling all day for 10 days before and after Doyo no Ushi Day, when the "Foot-Soaking Ceremony (Mitarai Festival)" is held, where people pray for good health and to ward off cancer.