Activities & Events Calendar

During the three hot days of this festival, all of Osaka will be purified. This is the grandest of the festivals at Sumiyoshi Taisha Grand Shrine, and as the last great festival at the end of the summer, it sees many visitors. On Marine Day in July, the "Portable Shrine Washing Rite" will begin the festival, followed by the "Yoi-miya" beginning at 8 p.m. on July 30th, the Regular Festival/Summer Nagoshi Harai Purification Ritual on the following day at 5:00 p.m., and on the final day, August 1st, the Mikoshitogyo procession will be held to transfer a portable shrine from its place in Sakai City in the evening. The festival's portable shrine weighs 2 tons. It's an impressive sight indeed as this incredible portable shrine is carried over the curved Soribashi bridge. On the evening of Marine Day in July, the portable shrine will be cleansed in Sumiyoshi Park. - This ritual is held to purify the portable shrine before its journey to its temporary resting place in Sakai City. The Yoiyama Festival begins at 8 p.m. on July 30th, and the Regular Festival/Summer Nagoshi Harai Purification Ritual begins at 5 p.m. on July 31st. - During the Summer Nagoshi Harai Purification Ritual, Nagoshi girls in splendid costumes will take a piece of straw, and pass through the purification wreath three times before going to the main shrine. This ritual is also designated a Folk Cultural Property by Osaka Prefecture. Kagura court music and dancing (Kumano dancing) and Sumiyoshi-odori dancing will be performed at the main shrine (Dai-ichi Moto-miya). The portable shrine procession (Mikoshitogyo) will be held in the afternoon on August 1st. - This procession is held to transfer the spirit of the Sumiyoshi Daijin deity to a temporary home in Sakai City. The passage of the heavy shrine over the curved Soribashi bridge and through the Yamato River is a truly gallant sight. You're sure to be impressed by the strength on display.Photo provided by:Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau