By MAMI UEDA/ Staff Writer
October 2, 2024 at 17:47 JST
MUNAKATA, Fukuoka Prefecture—The three-part Munakata Taisha shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site here, kicked off its autumn festivals on Oct. 1 by carrying goddesses from its remote island shrines to the mainland with a spectacular parade of ships.
The Miaresai festival is held once a year to welcome the Shinto goddesses from Okitsu-miya shrine on Okinoshima island and Nakatsu-miya shrine on Oshima island to Munakata Taisha’s main shrine of Hetsu-miya on the Kyushu mainland.
In the morning ritual parade across the Genkai Sea, two boats carried the goddesses from Oshima Port to Konominato Port, escorted by more than 100 fishing boats displaying flags wishing for good hauls.
Tourists and other onlookers welcomed the boats at Konominato Port.
Then, local parishioners of the shrine, volunteers and elementary and middle school students wearing traditional attire formed a line and brought the two portable shrines of the goddesses to Hetsu-miya shrine.
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Fishing boats cross the Genkai Sea to Konominato Port, wishing for safety at sea and good fishing, in Fukuoka Prefecture at 10 a.m. on Oct. 1. (Kengo Hiyoshi)
