F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-235
Fuseda Kojima Matsuri (Little-Island Sea Festival)
布施田 小島まつりふせだ こじままつり
The Kojima Matsuri of Fuseda, in Shima Town, Shima City, Mie, is a small fishing-village rite in which ama (women free-divers) and fishermen pray for safety at sea and a great catch. An altar is set up on Nakanohama (the front beach) of Fuseda, and the ama, fishermen, and residents receive a Shinto purification before praying toward the offshore islet of Kojima, where a small shrine (Kojima Shrine) stands. By old custom the ama first row out to the islet to clean and worship at the hokora, and in earlier times the rite itself was performed on the island. Following the Kojima rite on the 4th day of the sixth lunar month, the Hama Matsuri (Beach Festival) on the 11th day sees the ama set a straw boat adrift on the sea to pray for a bountiful catch and safe passage, while villagers observe a hi-machi (a day of rest from fishing). Listed as a component cultural property of the Japan Heritage story "The Town Where You Can Meet the Ama: Toba and Shima," it is a quiet, un-commercialized prayer to the sea.
H I G H L I G H T S
Highlights
- 01A front-beach rite in which white-clad ama and fishermen pray toward the offshore islet's hokora for safe seas and a great catch
- 02The old custom of ama rowing out to the islet before the rite to clean and worship at the shrine
- 03The Hama Matsuri (11th of the sixth lunar month), when a straw boat is set adrift on the sea as an offering
- 04A simple rite rooted in fishing-village life, performed mainly by the community rather than as a tourist event
D E E P D I V E