Oshiroi Festival
Oshiroi festival is a curious festival whose origins date back to more than 400 years ago. The powder of newly harvested rice is dissolved in water and then painted on the faces of celebrants, Oshiroi is a festival of thanksgiving for abundant crops. It is sand that by examining how well the powder sticks to the celebrants' faces, one can forecast the coming year's harvest. It is comical to see the celebrants weaving their way home after the ritual, since you cannot tell who's who at a glance.
Dorouchi Festival
In the fascinating Dorouchi festival, held on March 28 to forecast the coming year's harvest, twelve boys line up to energetically throw mud at the extremely inebriated deputy chief priest of the shrine, who must begin the Goshinko ritual (transferring the object of worship from one place to another) while he is covered with mud. It is said that the thicker the mud on the body of the deputy priest, the better will the harvest be, so the boys are very enthusiastic when they throw the mud. It might be pretty difficult for the deputy priest, however.
Hinashiro Okunchi
Okunchi in a local dialect means "autumn festival". It is not clear what Hinashiro means, but some say that many snails (hina) were harvested in this area. An important feature of Hinashiro Okunchi, which is held at Managi shrine at Hayashida in Amagi, is the ritual shishimai dance with a lion's mask. No music accompanies the dance, but the gallant motion in the ancient style preceding the transition to public entertainment is very exciting.
