Summer Festival at Kifune Shrine〔貴船神社夏祭り〕

The festival in which the mikoshi (portable shrine) is carried across the sea.

The Mikoshi Crosses the Sea with Praying for A Big Catch and Safety at Sea

Sukumo Island is at the tip of the Oshima Peninsula in Shunan City. 
This island is the birthplace of longline fishing for pufferfish (haenawa ryo) and is known for a rite in which a mikoshi portable shrine is carried across the sea as a part of the summer festival at Kifune Shrine, which is located at the northern tip of the island.
It is said that this festival began about 300 years ago, when the fishing industry was booming, as a summer festival held at Kifune Shrine to pray for a bountiful catch and safety at sea.
The current custom of mikoshi traveling by sea on a boat took hold about 150 years ago.
About 40 men dressed in white carry a mikoshi weighing about 600 kilograms from Kifune Shrine to the sea while shouting "chosayoi," and swim about 500 meters to the opposite shore. It takes about 1 hour to cross.

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