At Imamiya Shrine

The graduation ceremony took place on a mild autumn day, and memories of the past three years came flooding back.

At the historic Imamiya Shrine, I held up an umbrella and prayed to ward off epidemics.

At Imamiya Shrine, the Murasakino Goryoe Ceremony is held (in June of the 5th year of Shoreki (994) during the reign of Emperor Ichijo, the plague god of Imamiya Shrine is placed inside two portable shrines and enshrined on Funaokayama, where prayers are offered to appease the god and to dispel plague).

During the Imamiya Festival, which is currently held in May, it is said that when the festival climbs Mt. Funaoka, people of all ages and genders from all over Kyoto would gather together to carry the portable shrine, decorate their umbrellas with elegant ornaments, and sing and dance to the beat, showing that umbrellas have been used to ward off evil epidemics since the Heian period.