{"id":1972,"date":"2025-07-29T08:35:49","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T08:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/07\/29\/hundreds-pray-for-marine-safety-at-sacred-seaside-festival-near-tokyo\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T08:35:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T08:35:49","slug":"hundreds-pray-for-marine-safety-at-sacred-seaside-festival-near-tokyo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/07\/29\/hundreds-pray-for-marine-safety-at-sacred-seaside-festival-near-tokyo\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds pray for marine safety at sacred seaside festival near Tokyo"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Residents at Kurihama beach join a summer festival, praying for marine safety and celebrating community.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Participants<\/p>

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 [Eugene Hoshiko\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Hundreds of residents gathered at a beach in Yokosuka city\u2019s Kurihama area, south of Tokyo, over the weekend to pray for marine safety in a summer festival that fuses sacred ritual and seaside spectacle.<\/p>\n

As a portable shrine called mikoshi, decorated with Shinto ornaments, was lifted onto bearers\u2019 shoulders, the audience cheered.<\/p>\n

The mikoshi had started from Sumiyoshi Shrine and was paraded through neighbourhood alleyways. Shrine priests paused to bless offerings and pray for good fortune for people gathered outside their homes.<\/p>\n

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 necks, their sweaty faces splashed with seawater.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has been looking forward to this day all year,\u201d said Shuji Shimizu, head of the Kurihama Neighbourhood Association. \u201cIt\u2019s a celebration of our own strength and unity. Please stay safe out there \u2026 and enjoy every moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

As evening fell, the mikoshi was carried back to storage at the shrine, until next summer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Japan<\/p>

Participants carry a portable shrine into the sea during the annual Kurihama Sumiyoshi Shrine Festival. [Eugene Hoshiko\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Japan<\/p>

Shinto priests attend the annual Kurihama Sumiyoshi Shrine Festival. [Eugene Hoshiko\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Japan<\/p>

‘Kanabo\u2011san’, costumed children who lead the procession, rest during the procession at the festival. [Eugene Hoshiko\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Japan<\/p>

The mikoshi had started from Sumiyoshi Shrine and was paraded through neighbourhood alleyways. [Eugene Hoshiko\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Japan<\/p>

Hundreds of residents gathered at Kurihama beach outside Tokyo for the festival. [Eugene Hoshiko\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Japan<\/p>

Participants carry a shrine into the sea during the Kurihama Sumiyoshi Shrine Festival. [Eugene Hoshiko\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Japan<\/p>

The festival reached its climax when the bearers entered the water. [Eugene Hoshiko\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Residents at Kurihama beach join a summer festival, praying for marine safety and celebrating community. 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 [Eugene Hoshiko\/AP Photo] Hundreds of residents gathered at a beach in Yokosuka … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}