Mitarashi Festival

This summer festival takes place at Karasaki Shrine. It is also called Nagoshi no Harae where people’s impurity is purified and prayers to be able to spend the hot summer healthily are offered.
On the day of the festival, visitors write their name on a person-shaped piece of paper and breathe on it with their sins. They then throw it into Lake Biwa with their sins and go through the cogon grass ring to purify themselves. At dusk, the priests on the boat transfer torch fires to the wooden prayer sticks called negai-gushi that are piled up on the alter in the lake, and the offering of hand-held fireworks is displayed.