Mikage-sai (Pre-Aoi)

Participants in the procession await the arrival of the kami at Shimogamo

This is the second part of the entry about Mikage-sai, which takes place on May 12. A previous post covered the morning ritual at Shimogamo Shrine, when participants partake in purification rites prior to taking buses up to Mikage Shrine to receive the kami.

At Mikage Shrine, a cloth barrier is erected so that outsiders cannot see, and while the processional members have lunch, priests carry out the ritual invitation to the kami to descend. To ensure purity they wear white gloves and masks. The two kami descend into aoi flowers contained in wooden boxes, which are covered in white silk. The boxes are then placed in a mikoshi on a truck to be transported back to Shimogamo Shrine.

Back at Shimogamo, the kami are placed on horseback to be transported through the Tadasu no mori woods to enter the shrine. (The original means of transport from Mikage Shrine would have been by horse, the true ‘vehicle’ of the gods.) For the entertainment of the kami there are dances and gagaku music, to welcome them and put them in a good mood prior to the main Aoi event on May 15.