Every year people attend the Kinekosa Festival to pray for protection from evil, prosperity, peace, and a good harvest. The spectacle is impressive: first, the men carry a piece of green bamboo and stand it in the Shonai River. A man then climbs up the bamboo in very cold climate, and the direction in which the bamboo bends or breaks is used to make predictions about the harvest and guide prayers. The festival has been held at Hichishosha Shrine since roughly A.D. 884 and is registered as an intangible cultural asset.
Kinekosa Festival
