Danjiri Matsuri at Ōtori-taisha

Overview

The Otori Mihahi Shrine Danjiri Festival is an autumn danjiri (float) festival held as the rite of Otori Mihahi Shrine, which stands within the precincts of Otori Taisha in the Otori district of Nishi Ward, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture. Also known as the Otori Danjiri Festival, it is held each year from the first Friday to Sunday of October. It is known for the spirited "miyairi," in which ten danjiri brought out by the various local towns enter the precincts of Otori Taisha. As the shouts of the pullers and the danjiri-bayashi music resound, the elaborately carved floats line up in the precincts, making this one of the festivals that convey the deeply rooted danjiri culture of the Senshu region.

Otori Mihahi Shrine is an auxiliary shrine of Otori Taisha, known as the first shrine (ichinomiya) of Izumi Province, and the festival is cherished as an annual event of the Otori town.

History and Origins

The Otori Danjiri Festival has an old history, said to date back about 400 years. The venue, Otori Mihahi Shrine, has long been enshrined as an auxiliary shrine of Otori Taisha in Otorikita-cho, Sakai City. The main shrine, Otori Taisha, enshrines Yamato Takeru no Mikoto as its principal deity and is known as an ancient shrine derived from the white bird legend, in which the spirit of Yamato Takeru, who died on his way back from his eastern campaign, descended as a white bird and a shrine was built on that spot. Holding the rank of first shrine of Izumi Province, it has long drawn wide devotion, and Otori Mihahi Shrine has received local reverence as its auxiliary shrine.

The danjiri festival is a rite giving thanks for the autumn harvest and praying for abundance, a culture deeply rooted throughout the Senshu region, in which each town pulls the danjiri it owns and dedicates it to the shrine. Danjiri are built from timber such as zelkova, and are characterized by elaborate carvings of historical tales and battle scenes on their roofs and lower sections, with each town taking pride in their craftsmanship. In the Otori district as well, ten towns, Otori, Noda, Shinzaike, Kitaoji, Noshiro, Choshoji, Kami, Tonoki, Ishibashi, and Hamadera-motomachi, each maintain a danjiri and carry on the tradition of the autumn miyairi.

Highlights

The greatest highlight is the scene of each town's danjiri entering the precincts of Otori Taisha. On the day of the main festival, the ten danjiri enter in formal array one after another from a little past nine in the morning, line up before Otori Mihahi Shrine, hold a ceremony, and receive purification. After the ceremony the danjiri leave the shrine and are then pulled out to each town for the local procession. The sight of many pullers working in unison to handle the heavy danjiri, gaining momentum as they enter through the great front torii gate, displays the power unique to the Senshu danjiri festival.

The Otori danjiri festival is also distinguished by its nighttime procession, in which the floats race through the streets lit by lanterns. The bold straight-line pulling at night gives off a heat and intensity different from the daytime miyairi and draws many spectators. The three-dimensional carvings of warriors and battle scenes on the danjiri themselves are masterworks of craftsmanship worth viewing up close.

Event Information and Access

The Otori Mihahi Shrine Danjiri Festival (Otori Danjiri Festival) is held each year from the first Friday to Sunday of October at and around the precincts of Otori Taisha in the Otori district of Nishi Ward, Sakai City, Osaka. The danjiri miyairi is the central event of the main festival, held in the precincts of Otori Taisha, with town processions and nighttime pulling before and after.

Otori Taisha is within walking distance of Otori Station on the JR Hanwa Line and is conveniently accessible from central Osaka. As traffic restrictions may be in place on surrounding roads during the festival, use of public transport rather than cars is recommended.

Nearby Attractions

Otori Taisha, the venue, is an ancient shrine known as the first shrine of Izumi Province and draws worshippers as a venerable site connected to the white bird legend of Yamato Takeru. Its precincts are wrapped in a lush sacred grove, dotted with auxiliary shrines including Otori Mihahi Shrine. A shopping street spreads around Otori Station, and during the festival the danjiri are pulled along the arcade and in front of the shrine.

Related Information

• Month held: October (first Friday to Sunday)
• Prefecture: Osaka
• Location: Otori district, Nishi Ward, Sakai City (precincts of Otori Taisha and surroundings)
• Type: danjiri (float) festival; also called the Otori Danjiri Festival
• Participants: ten towns of the Otori district (Otori, Noda, Shinzaike, Kitaoji, Noshiro, Choshoji, Kami, Tonoki, Ishibashi, Hamadera-motomachi)
• Main events: miyairi of ten danjiri, town processions, nighttime pulling
• Related: rite of an auxiliary shrine of Otori Taisha (first shrine of Izumi Province; white bird legend of Yamato Takeru)

← Explore More Festivals