Sannousai Festival, April 12th to 15th

Hiyoshi Taisha Sannousai

(Sannousai Festival

12-15 April Otsu, Shiga Prefecture

The annual festival reaches its climax after 3 days when 4 huge mikoshi are aggressively shaken by bearers in a vigorous and dramatic manner. Coincides with the blossoming of the cherry trees in the shrine precincts.

The Sannousai Festival is held from April 12th to 15th at Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine. The purpose of the festival is to pray for a good harvest. It has a history of more that 1200 years. On the 14th, seven Mikoshi will cross Biwako to a shrine in Karasaki and then go back to the Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine.

Hiyoshi Taisha shrine (the same characters used to be pronounced Hie Taisha)[citation needed] is a Shinto shrine located in Ōtsu, Shiga, Japan. This shrine is one of the Twenty-Two Shrines. Hiyoshi Shrine (Hiyoshi taisha), also known as Hiyoshi jinja or Hie jinja. The West Hall of Worship (nishi hon-gū) and the East Hall of Worship (higashi hon-gū) have been designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as National Treasures in the category shrines. This shrine heads the seventh largest shrine network in Japan, at about 4,000 shrines.

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiyoshi_Taisha