| DATE: | January 15, 2007 | |
| PLACE: | 42 Imakumano Naginomori-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto |
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| DIRECTION: | City Bus #208 at Imakumano | |
| TEL: | 81-75-561-4892 | |
| ADMISSION: | Free | |
| TEXT: | The Sagicho Ritual at Imakumano Shrine, or Tondo-yaki, is an annual New Year's ritual believed to have been performed since the Muromachi period some 600 years ago. Fans and strips of paper are wrapped around three bamboo poles and three gicho (a hammer to hit balls) to make a sagicho. This is then added to others and burned in the sacred fire to produce a blaze at which people pray for good health in a new year. |