Dates: Late July – early August (June 17th according to the lunar calendar)
Place: Itsukushima Shrine
City: 1162-18 Miyajima-cho, Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture
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During the Kangensai music festival, Japanese court music and dancers of the period fill colourful boats as then pass under the gateway (O-torii) at the World Heritage registered site of Itsukushima Shrine. The O-torii can be seen as rising majestically from the water of the inland sea during high tide setting the scene at this medieval nobles’ style of entertainment. The Kangesai Festival is now ranked among the three finest float festivals in Japan, celebrating the goddess of the sea by ferrying her portable shrine (mikoshi) across the water from its home on the holy island of Miyajima to Jigozen Shrine on the Japanese mainland, accompanied by hundreds of fishing boats decorated with lanterns.
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