HOLD- Participants carry a portable shrine, or mikoshi, into the sea during a purification rite at the annual Kurihama Sumiyoshi Shrine Festival at Kurihama, Yokosuka city, south of Tokyo Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Participants attend a ritual at Sumiyoshi Shrine for a procession with a portable shrine called mikoshi at Kurihama, Yokosuka city, south of Tokyo Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A "Kanabo‑san," costumed children who lead the procession, attends the annual Kurihama Sumiyoshi Shrine Festival at Kurihama, Yokosuka city, south of Tokyo Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Participants carry a portable shrine, or mikoshi, during the annual Kurihama Sumiyoshi Shrine Festival at Kurihama, Yokosuka city, south of Tokyo Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Participants pass a newborn baby underneath a portable shrine, or mikoshi, intended to bring good fortune, during the annual Kurihama Sumiyoshi Shrine Festival at Kurihama, Yokosuka city, south of Tokyo Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
TOKYO (AP) — Hundreds of residents gathered at Kurihama beach outside Tokyo over the weekend to pray for marine safety in a summer festival that fuses sacred ritual and seaside spectacle.
As a portable shrine called mikoshi, decorated with Shinto ornaments, was lifted onto bearers' shoulders, the audience cheered.
The mikoshi had started from Sumiyoshi Shrine and was paraded through neighborhood alleyways. Shrine priests paused to bless offerings and pray for good fortune for people gathered outside their homes.
When the procession reached the beach, the priests danced and chanted. The festival reached its climax when the bearers entered the water up to their neck, their sweaty faces splashed with seawater.
The procession made a final stop at the nearby ferry terminal, where the mikoshi was carried onto a vessel for prayers for its safe travels.
“Everyone has been looking forward to this day all year,†said Shuji Shimizu, head of the Kurihama Neighborhood Association. “It’s a celebration of our own strength and unity. Please stay safe out there ... and enjoy every moment.â€
As evening fell, the mikoshi was carried back to storage at the shrine, until next summer.
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