Chiriku Hachimangu Shrine (Okayu Dameshi Fortune Telling)

Chiriku Hachimangu Shrine (Okayu Dameshi Fortune Telling)

Chiriku Hachimangu Shrine (Okayu Dameshi Fortune Telling) Chiriku Hachiman Shrine was built in 729. Symbolized by a grand stone hizen torii gate which has been designated as an Important Cultural Property of the town, every year on March 15th, Chiriku Hachiman hosts one of the three most famous "rice-gruel rites" of Japan, called Okayudameshi. This mysterious festival has a history of over 1200 years, and is said to predict the year's fortune. First, okayu, or rice gruel, is made in a big pot around the end of February. Chopsticks are then placed in a box in the shape of a cross and rice gruel is divided into the four compartments, each compartment representing one of the four former domains of Hizen (Saga prefecture and part of Nagasaki prefecture), Higo (Kumamoto prefecture), Chikuzen (present-day northern Fukuoka prefecture) and Chikugo (southern Fukuoka prefecture). The amount of mold which develops on each section is said to indicate the weather and crop yield for each area, as well as foretell typhoons, floods, droughts, fires and so on. On the day of this festival the shrine comes alive with people who come from near and far to hear the results of the fortune-telling.


● Date: March 15 every year
● Access:

From train station: 20-minute taxi ride from Nakabaru Station on the JR Nagasaki Main Line
Car: 30-minute drive from Nagasaki Expressway Higashi-sefuri IC
Bus: Get on Nishitetsu Bus bound for Kurume at Saga Station Bus Center, and get off at “Chiriku Hachimangu Mae”
● Parking Lot: Available
● Contact: Chiriku Hachimangu Shrine, Tel: +81-942-89-5566

Map

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