The Honda Matsuri at Ontake Shrine in Shinshiro is held over three days in early October and is considered one of the largest autumn festivals in eastern Aichi Prefecture. Its centrepiece is the Ageuma Shinji, a Shinto ritual in which horses are urged to leap up steep stone steps to divine the harvest yield—a practice preserved from the Heian period. The festival also features elaborate dashi floats, children's mikoshi processions, and traditional performing arts rooted in the rural Tokai mountain culture of the area.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Matsuri
- Season
- Autumn
- Month
- Early October
- Region
- Chubu
- Prefecture
- Aichi
- City
- Shinshiro
Highlights
- ◆Ancient Ageuma Shinji horse-jumping ritual on shrine steps
- ◆Elaborate dashi floats with mechanical karakuri dolls
- ◆Children's mikoshi processions through town streets
- ◆Roots in Heian-period agricultural divination rites
- ◆Set in the forested mountain landscape of east Aichi