Chichibu Kawase Matsuri

The Chichibu Kawase Matsuri is a summer festival held every July 19th and 20th at Chichibu Shrine in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture. In contrast to the magnificent winter Chichibu Night Festival, this is beloved as "Chichibu's summer festival," known as a refreshing celebration in which children take the leading roles.

The festival's defining feature is the "mikoshi washing" rite, in which the portable shrine is carried into a clear stream. At midday on the 20th, bearers dressed in white hakuchō robes carry the mikoshi bearing the divine spirit and stride boldly into the pure flow of the Arakawa River. This rite of purifying the mikoshi midstream amid the spray captivates onlookers as an exhilarating scene that dispels the summer heat. It carries the meaning of "misogi," the cleansing away of sin and impurity.

In addition, the Kawase festival features eight floats slightly smaller than those of the Night Festival (two kasaboko and six yatai). Because these floats are pulled mainly by children, it is said that "the stars of the festival are children," giving it the important role of passing on the festival tradition to the next generation. The summer and winter grand festivals of Chichibu Shrine are a precious festival culture deeply rooted in the lives of the people of Chichibu through the turning of the seasons.