The Atsuta Festival is held on June 5th every year at Atsuta Shrine. This festival heralds the arrival of summer in Nagoya, and features fireworks, stalls, and other events.

This time, we will introduce the Atsuta Festival.

What is Atsuta Festival?

Officially called the Atsuta Festival, the Atsuta Festival is the most important and solemn festival at Atsuta Jingu Shrine, and is attended by imperial messengers from the Emperor.

Since ancient times, June 5th has been the day when a ritual called the Atsuta Tenno Festival was held at the Minami-Shingu Shrine, which is located on the precincts of Atsuta Shrine. According to a book from the Edo period, an epidemic spread during the Kanko era (1004-1012) of the Heian period.

In the precincts, traditional ceremonies such as Shinto rituals and kagura (sacred Japanese dance to entertain gods) are also held, as if you were watching a court event.
On the day of the annual festival, at 10:00 a.m., the goheimono shinbitsu is led by the imperial messenger, followed by the priests and other members of the priesthood, and then the representative.

On the day of the festival, food and beverage stalls and street stalls line the grounds, creating a lively atmosphere.

Source: https://www.nagoya-info.jp/event/detail/155/

Furthermore, in the evening, Makiwara lanterns (A portable shrine with numerous lanterns hung like a hemispherical roof) are lit up. Praying for good health, 377 paper lanterns representing the number of days and months in a year are decorated at the three gates on the east, west, and south of the precincts.

In addition, 1,000 fireworks will be launched from Jingu Park. It is a summer festival in Nagoya that is loved by locals.

Atsuta Festival Report

This time, I arrived around 11 o'clock to enjoy lunch at the stall. Most of the stalls are lined up in the morning.

If you are traveling with children, we recommend visiting during the day.

I would like to start by visiting the shrine.
There are quite a few people even before noon.

The place has a different atmosphere than usual!

Check out the special gifts for this day only.

This is the "makiwara bell" which is based on the image of the "makiwara lantern" used at the Atsuta Festival. This bell is a mikoshi decorated with 365 lanterns in a hemispherical shape, and 12 lanterns are attached to the pole in the center.

There are two colors, red and blue.

In the precincts, martial arts and entertainment competitions such as archery, kendo, and kagura are held all day long as dedication events.

Among them, the highlight is traditional performing arts such as swordsmanship called "Bou no Te" and bojutsu (art of using a stick as a weapon), which is a dance of Japanese martial arts. Two to several performers dance according to the form in a competition.

The powerful Bou no Te is a Shinto ritual that you should definitely check out.

Let's Enjoy Street Food!

When it comes to enjoying summer festivals, food stalls are a must. There are 200 to 300 stalls lined up inside and outside the precincts, and you may be wondering which one to choose.

First of all, let's have a refreshing "pickled cucumber".
This is the taste of street food stalls!

The standard "chocolate banana" at the stall.
It's a gourmet dish that's colorfully decorated and looks great on Instagram.

"Takoyaki" is the food stall that has a long line at festivals. It is also a point that each stall has different tastes such as soy sauce flavor, sauce flavor, soup stock, and toppings.

Speaking of traditional “Nagoya style takoyaki”, it seems that it is soy sauce flavored.

"Tama-sen" is a fast & cheap food born in Nagoya. An omelet is sandwiched between takosen (a cracker) and seasoned with okonomiyaki sauce.

In fact, it is a dish that many people outside the Tokai area do not know about.

"Baby Castella" is a bale-shaped bite-sized castella. It's a food stall that you can't help but buy because of its sweet smell.

Classic cotton candy! Its fluffy and cute appearance will make you want to eat it even when you grow up. One of the joys of buying cotton candy is wondering which character the bag should be.

This time I got Hello Kitty's cotton candy!

Besides food, you can also experience shooting and quoits.

This time, we introduced the Atsuta Festival.
The Atsuta Festival is a festival that can be enjoyed from the morning. Please enjoy it together with traditional Shinto rituals.