🎎 Nabe-kabuto Matsuri (Nabe-kabuto Festival)

Chikama Shrine is located on the shores of Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan. Every year on May 3rd, it holds the "Nabekanzan Festival," which announces the arrival of spring. Along with Kyoto Prefecture's "Uji An'ya Kiki Festival" and Toyama Prefecture's "Echuu Torisaka Oshiri Matsuri," it is known as one of the "Three Great Odd Festivals" of Japan. This uniquely peculiar festival has been designated as an intangible folk cultural asset by the city of Maibara in Shiga Prefecture, where the shrine is located. The festival dates back over 1200 years to the Heian period, making it historically significant. Chikama Shrine enshrines the god of food, and during the Heian period, the local community had the opportunity to offer fish and agricultural products to the imperial court, along with the local specialty earthenware pots, which is believed to be the origin of the festival. On the day of the festival, the deity of the shrine is transported to a portable shrine, and over 200 people dressed in Heian period attire parade along the shores of Lake Biwa for about 1 kilometer. Among the most eye-catching participants are a group of 7 to 8-year-old girls dressed in green hunting clothes and red hakama pants. They wear black pots or cauldrons made from zōshi (crafts made from bamboo, wood, and clay) on their heads, and their unique outfits have earned the festival the title of "Odd Festival." This unique local tradition is definitely worth witnessing in person if the timing aligns.

The special festival held at Chikama Shrine in Shiga Prefecture every year on May 3rd is known as one of Japan's three great奇祭 (kizai). A parade featuring participants dressed in Heian period clothing marches along the shores of Lake Biwa alongside the portable shrine. The girls in the procession wearing pots or cauldrons on their heads also give the festival its name.