Aki Matsuri (Autumn festivals)
Aki Matsuri (Autumn festivals)
Yatsuki Tsutsukowake Shrine, Fukushima, on Aki Matsuri 2003 ©
Late summer and autumn feature many aki matsuri, autumn festivals, often thanking the kami for a good harvest. Different shrines countrywide hold their own celebrations on varying dates.
Niinamesai
This national holiday is marked on 23 November. Nowadays it is celebrated as a labour-thanksgiving day.
It was originally a harvest festival in which rituals were performed by the Imperial family to give thanks for a good crop yield.