Uji Festival

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Uji Festival (Uji matsuri)

***** Location: Uji Shrine
***** Season: Early Summer
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Uji matsuri 宇治祭 (うじまつり) Uji Festival
rikyuu matsuri 離宮祭（りきゅうまつり）Rikyu Festival
taihei shinji 大幣神事（たいへいしんじ）ceremony of the large wands
karakasaboko 傘鉾（からかさぼこ）"kasahoko floats with large parasols"
karakasa gohei 傘御幣（からかさごへい） wands with large parasols

At shrine Uji jinja 宇治神社,and Ujigami Jinja 宇治上神社, Kyoto 京都府宇治市
from May 8 to June 8.
. . . CLICK here for Photos of the shrine !
Ujigami Shrine is a world heritage site.

The shrine has two compounds, the upper and lower one, and both are also called "Rikyu Hachiman Shrine 離宮八幡".
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


The deity venerated here is
Uji wakaira tsuko no mikoto
菟道稚郎子尊（うじわかいらつこのみこと）

On May 5, the mikoshi portable shrines of each shrine are brought to their "travel stations" (tabisho), where they are venerated for one month. This is called
oide　御出　"they have come"

On June 5 they are carried back (Kankoo sai 還幸祭).
On the way they stop at shrine Agata jinja 縣神社, where the ceremony of the "large wands" takes place. People pray for good health and a bountiful harvest.


source :　tois.nichibun.ac.jp

These large wands are made from three pines cut at the mountain Taiheisan 泰平山 , cut to a length of about 6 meters. They are cut to a triangular shape and covered with white cloth. These wands are thrust in the sky and slapped on the ground on the way crossing the bidge Ujibashi　宇治橋, where the wands are thrown into the river.
The house on the way where the wand is completely destroyed will have bad luck in the coming year.

After this, the mikoshi are carried back to their shrines.
During the parade, there are also large floats with parasols and lanterns. Young men with masks of demons dance under these parasols.

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Agata matsuri あがた祭り / 県祭 Agata Festival
kigo for mid-summer
kurayami matsuri くらやみ祭（くらやみまつり)
festival in the dark


The Agata Festival on June 6 begins in the early morning and runs until late at night. The festival is famous throughout western Japan for the activities that are rumored to take place when the lights are suddenly doused at midnight.

- quote -
Agata matsuri
The main annual festival (reisai) of Agata Shrine, in Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture held around June 5 (originally, the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar).
The festival begins on the fifth with the offering of a sacred meal to the kami. At about 1 a.m. on the night of the sixth, after all lights have been extinguished, a large image of the deity Bonten (Skt. Brahma-deva) , which is considered to be a representation of the kami enshrined at Agata, is paraded by naked young men.
The statue is carried in procession to a temporary enshrinement location (otabisho) in the heiden (a structure between the main sanctuary and the worship hall, where offerings are usually presented to the kami).
The Agata Festival is also known as kurayami matsuri (festival in the dark). Agata is the shrine of the tutelary deity of the temple Byōdōin. Given that the heiden where the image of the kami enshrined at Agata, Konohanasakuyahime also hosts the sacred palanquin (shinyo) of the male deity of the Uji Shrine, the festival has also been regarded as a divine nuptial rite (shinkon). Two days later a purification ritual using large paper streamers is carried out at the Uji Shrine.
- source : Kokugakuin, Mogi Sakae -



Bonten togyo 梵天渡御 "Bonten is passing"

. Bonten　梵天 Baramonten, Brahma .


. Reference : Ujigami Shrine

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quote
Since Uji is a place full of tradition, there are many small temples to be found on both sides of the river.
Byōdō-in Temple (平等院), Phoenix Hall (鳳凰堂 Hōō-dō)
Kosho-ji Temple
Mimurotoji Temple
Mampukuji Temple (萬福寺)

Uji Shrine. This shrine is located right next to Ujigami Shrine, this shrine was built to consul the soul of Prince Uji no Wakiiratsuko, who committed suicide in the Uji River.

Ujigami Shrine, (Located just to the left of Uji Shrine). This modest little shrine is a registered World Heritage Site.
It's said to be the oldest Shinto shrine in Japan.
source : iguide.travel/Uji


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Festivals at Uji Shrine

１月 １日 歳旦祭
２月 ３日 節分祭 [通称]星祭
４月 第二日曜日 水神祭　[通称]宇治川祭
５月 ８日 例祭　[神事名]神幸祭
６ ５日 幣渡祭　[通称]梵天渡御祭
６月 ８日 例祭　[神事名]還幸祭
６月 ３０日 大祓式
１０月 １日 献茶祭
１２月 中旬日曜日 火焚祭
１２月 ３１日 大祓式
毎月 １日 月次祭
source : www.kamimoude.org


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


In the 4th century the son of Emperor Ōjin established a palace in Uji.

Three Battles of Uji-gawa took place here in 1180, 1184, and 1221.

Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358–1408) promoted cultivation of green tea in the Uji area. Since that time Uji has been an important production and distribution center of superior quality green tea. Tsuen tea has been served since 1160 and is still sold in what is the oldest tea shop in Japan, and possibly the world—the Tsuen tea shop.

The final chapters of the Tale of Genji are set in Uji, attracting visiting literature buffs.

In the 15th century A.D., tea-jars were brought by the shoguns to Uji in Kyoto, Japan from the Philippines which was used in the Japanese Tea Ceremony.

Ujigami Shrine was found via dendrochronology to be the oldest original Shinto shrine in Japan, having been built around 1060, and is supposed to have a close relation with Byōdō-in in 1052.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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HAIKU

山吹や宇治の焙炉の匂ふ時
yamabuki ya Uji no hoiro no niou toki

mountain roses -
when tea ovens at Uji
are so fragrant
Tr. Barnhill


MORE - discussing this hokku and
Drinking tea with
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .



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秋晴や宇治の大橋横たはり
akibare ya Uji no oohashi yokotahari

fine autumn weather -
the big bridge at Uji
spreads over the river

Tomiyasu Fusei 富安風生

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Related words

***** . The Phoenix Hall in Uji 鳳凰堂 　

***** . Tea from Uji 宇治茶
Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358–1408) promoted cultivation of green tea in the Uji area.


source :　morihan shop, Uji


8 - Monk Kisen 喜撰法師
. Ujiyama うぢ山 Mount Uji 宇治山 .
. Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Poems 小倉百人一首 .

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