In the hamlet of Fukuoka in Hōki Town stands Fukuoka Shrine. Every October it hosts the Takomai-shiki ritual (an octopus-themed ritual). Called “one of Japan’s three great unusual festivals,” it was designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Tottori Prefecture in 1986 (Shōwa 61).
It’s quite a long way from the sea — and yet, an octopus. That alone is enough to make you curious, isn’t it?
Why an octopus?
Trace the shrine’s origins and you arrive at the sea.
The enshrined deity, Hayatama-o-no-Mikoto, was crossing the sea by boat when the vessel was about to be wrecked off the coast of Kumano. Then countless octopuses appeared and saved the boat by lifting it from below — so the story is told. The deity later passed through Kibi (around present-day Okayama) and came to this land. And so, it is said, a ritual giving thanks to the octopus survived in a hamlet deep in the mountains.
In one of the places farthest from the sea, the memory of a sea god and an octopus lives on as a festival. This also opens onto a larger story — of the path the Kumano faith followed to reach this land.
What kind of festival is it?
It is a rather intense ritual.
Parishioners dressed in fundoshi (loincloth) lift up a man who holds a great octopus made of straw. The man clings to a roof beam of the shrine hall and is spun round and round. Less “dancing” than turning. Just watching it, you can feel your own muscles tense — it’s a ritual that puts the body on the line.
It is generally held in October (said to be the third Wednesday, though it varies from year to year). It was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, so if you plan to go, be sure to check the latest schedule. The San’in Chūō Shimpō reported in 2023 that it was held “for the first time in four years.”
If you go to see it
- Fukuoka Shrine — the stage of the ritual. Find the place on the map
- Nearby is also the Fukuoka reservoir pond, where the scenery of village life and water still remains
A word from the rabbit: A thank-you to the octopus that lifted the boat, carried on for over a thousand years up on the mountain. That’s loyalty taken to the extreme. Lovely, really.
References:
- Hōki Town tourism site, “One of Japan’s three great unusual festivals! The Takomai-shiki ritual”
- Sanin, Homeland of the Gods, “The Takomai-shiki ritual / Fukuoka Shrine”
- San’in Chūō Shimpō (2023), “The Takomai ritual, held for the first time in four years”
- ※ The origin story follows shrine legend; the cultural-property designation is historical fact. Please confirm the latest schedule for the event date.
