"40,000 dolls" full of memories are in the sky... Shikoku's largest "doll memorial festival" Tamura Shrine [Kagawa/Takamatsu City]
notebook-laptopOn the 23rd, the largest “Doll Memorial Festival” in Shikoku, where about 40,000 dolls were memorialized, was held at a shrine in Takamatsu City. Cherished dolls are brought in one after another. They are full of memories of their owners, such as hina dolls and May dolls that watched their children grow up. Tamura Shrine in Takamatsu City, which is crowded with many New Year's visitors during the New Year, has held memorial services for dolls at this time of the year since the Meiji period. After the ritual was performed by the Shinto priest, it was lit with a torch and raised up. (The person who brought the doll) ``Since the child has grown up, I want you to give me the festival doll (I brought it). I hope that you will rest in peace.'' Each doll brought in has a lot of feelings and memories, so we are carefully cleansing and holding a memorial service.I hope that 2022 will be a good year.” The doll turned into smoke, flew up, and disappeared into the sky at the end of the year.
