SHIOGAMA, Miyagi Prefecture--Just over four months after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated this Pacific port, 23,000 participants and spectators took part in the Shiogama Port Festival on July 18.
SHIOGAMA, Miyagi Prefecture--Just over four months after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated this Pacific port, 23,000 participants and spectators took part in the Shiogama Port Festival on July 18.
The centerpiece of the event, one of the three largest boat festivals in Japan, is the "Mikoshi Kaijo Togyo" (portable shrine cruise). The Ryuho Maru and the Hoo Maru, each carrying portable shrines representing the Shiwahikojinja and Shiogamajinja shrines, cruised outside the port surrounded by small fleets of fishing boats. Participants pray for safety at sea and big catches.
The Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami severely damaged Shiogama and destroyed many of its boats. Local residents were uncertain whether the event would proceed, but the fact that the festival had originally been organized to help reconstruction after World War II helped persuade them to go ahead.
Problems with ensuring safety obliged the organizers to reduce the number of fishing boats taking part from about 100 in past years to only 80 and to cut short the cruise. However, attendance was up more than 20 percent over last year.