This unique festival taking place at Gonshoji Temple in Ota is a designated intangible cultural asset of Tokyo. The rituals here are historically performed to stop the rain during the wet season.
The michiyuki procession starts at 1pm in front of the Omori Daiichi Elementary School, where two young men, wrapped in straw, blow into conch shells to impersonate Ryujin, the god of water. They’re then carried towards Gonshoji Temple while being constantly sprinkled with water. The actual Mizudome no Mai dance takes place on a stage at the temple and will be performed by three participants disguised as shishi lions.
Mizudome no Mai dates back to the summer of 1321, when the area of Musashi (present-day Tokyo and Saitama) was suffering from drought. In order to pray for rain, the chief priest of Gonshoji Temple built a dragon from straw and set it afloat on the sea.
However, two years later, a continuous pouring of heavy rain brought the floods instead, which destroyed the crops. Once again, the chief priest of Gonshoji Temple called on the god of water to stop the rain. This time, he had support from local farmers who performed a special dance while wearing lion masks.
The event takes place from 1pm to 3pm.