New Year rituals at Itsukushima Shrine

Thousands of people head to Itsukushima Shrine on the island of Miyajima during the New Year holiday. Here are the main traditional rituals and ceremonies held during the first few days of the year.

Jan 1

• • Shin-i Kenjo-shiki Ceremony (offering new clothes to deities) from midnight
  • Saitan-sai Festival Ceremony Bugaku traditional dance performance starts at 5:30am.

Jan 2

• Futsukasai Ceremony 09:00
• Omatsubayashishinnou Bugaku traditional dance performance 13:00

Jan 3

• Genshisai Ceremony 09:00
• Bugaku performance 13:00

Jan 5

• Chikyusai Ceremony and Bugaku performance 05:30
• Includes Batoh (Sunrise Dance) only performed once a year on this day.