F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-166

Waraji-Hiki Shinji — Giant Straw Sandal Ritual (Waraji-Hiki Shinji / Waraji Matsuri)

わらじ曳き神事（わらじ祭り）わらじひきしんじ（わらじまつり）

Each year on the Day of the Monkey (saru no hi) in September, Namikiri Jinja in Ōwa Town, Shima City, stages a maritime safety ritual in which a giant straw sandal — measuring approximately two meters in length and one meter in width, equivalent to a full tatami mat — is hauled by children in ceremonial dress to Suba-no-hama beach on the eastern shore of Namikiri Cape, then set adrift toward Ōwa Island offshore. The ritual is associated with the legend of the Dandara-bocchi (also known as Dandara-hōshi), a one-eyed, one-legged giant said to inhabit Ōwa Island; according to local tradition, villagers disguised as Ashiya Gongen (the tutelary deity of Namikiri Jinja) persuaded the giant that the enormous sandal belonged to a warrior of supernatural strength, causing it to retreat. The selection of the Day of the Monkey is explained both as a wordplay on the verb saru ("to leave, to depart") and as a practical measure against the typhoon season. The ritual was designated a Mie Prefectural Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1971 (Shōwa 46) under the name "Namikiri no Waraji-Hiki."