Event (Yearly)

The music festival held on June 17 of the old calendar is modeled after the elegant boat amusements of the Heian nobility and constitutes the largest event at the Itsukushima Shrine.
Boats carrying embodiments of the gods leave Itsukushima and cruise past the Jigozen shrine on the opposite coast and the Nagahama and Omoto shrines in Miyajima where the most treasured pieces of esoteric Japanese music (Gagaku) of each shrine is performed, before the boats return to Itsukushima.
The elegant music performed on the boats floating on the summer sea, the open fire illumination reflected on the water surface and the so-called "Otomobune Senshu" (thousand accompanying ships) fleet of boats with their raised flags praying for big catch look like a performance of the pageant on the water, or a very beautiful picture scroll.