Sanno-matsuri

   The festival for Sanno (gongen) celebrated at the Hiyoshi or Hie taisha on Mt. Hiei near Kyoto, and thousands of Hie jinja throughout Japan. At the Hie taisha two ara-mitama of Oyama-kui-no-kami are brought to a shrine on April 12 to be 'married'. The following day they are entertained and at night shaken violently by about a hundred men and 'give birth' to a child-kami. The Sanno matsuri (formerly sanno-gongen) of the Hie jinja in Tokyo held on June 14-15 was celebrated before the Meiji restoration as the 'official festival' (goyo-sai) for the entertainment of the shogun. It was known as the Tenka ('all under heaven'—the whole country) matsuri and alternated with the Kanda matsuri. It was famed for its procession of more than forty beautiful floats, no longer allowed in Tokyo. The present shinko gyoretsu (kami-parade) passes through Akasaka, Yotsuya, Ginza and Shimbashi and features three mikoshi and two 'imperial carriages' (horen) with about 400 followers in Heian period costume. Miko perform kagura and a chi-no-wa is set up through which participants pass for good luck, twice to the left and once to the right.