令和7年しろんご祭・三重県鳥羽市菅島・2025 Shirongo Festival, Sugashima, Japan

令和7年しろんご祭・三重県鳥羽市菅島・2025 Shirongo Festival, Sugashima, Japan

Toba, Mie Prefecture We are at municipal ferry terminal in the city of Toba, Mie Prefecture. Our ferry for the island of Sugashima is due to leave at 7.50 am. Sugashima is the second largest of the outlying islands in Toba Bay, and is administered as part of the city of Toba. Here, we see the Nippon Maru, a Japanese cruise ship, which entered service in 1990. The ferry journey from Toba Marine Terminal to the port on Sugashima takes about 13 minutes. The reason for our visit to this island is the annual Shirongo Festival, which takes place on and around Shirongo Beach. Commercial fishing is one of the main sources of income for the islanders. Shirongo Beach is about a 20-minute, mainly uphill, walk from Sugashima ferry terminal. We have reached Shirongo Beach, where quite a large crowd has already congregated. These women are female divers, known as ‘Ama’. Although they’re perhaps best known for collecting pearls, they mainly dive for shellfish. Before the main event begins, a Shinto priest performs a purification ritual on the beach. Here, the priest is holding a ‘Sakaki’ (cleyera Japonica), a plant that is considered sacred in the Shinto religion. The sakaki is customarily shaken over people, objects and spaces in order to purify them. The priest is now sprinkling salt, which is also done for purification. Today’s event, the Shirongo Festival, is held annually to worship “Shirahige Daimyōjin”, the guardian deity of this island, and to pray for large catches of fish and safety at sea. Besides the Ama, a group of children will also be participating in the festival. Although this beach has been designated as a year-round non-fishing zone, fishing is permitted today, the day of the Shirongo Festival. The Ama are now dispersing. Some of the Ama board boats to gather shellfish a couple of hundred meters from the shore. Other Ama will enter the water from the beach and collect the shellfish closer to the shoreline. The blowing of the conch shell is the signal for the Ama to enter the water and begin collecting the shellfish. The Ama must compete to catch a pair of abalone. The first pair of abalone caught is dedicated to Shirohige Shrine. These abalone are called “Maneki Abalone,” and it is said that the first female diver to the “Maneki Abalone” is designated as the “head diver” for a one-year period, and is guaranteed a large catch. Here, we see the Ama in action. A little further along the beach, the group of children get the opportunity to play the role of Ama and gather shellfish for themselves. This Ama was the first one to catch a pair of abalone. She must climb the steps to offer the abalone in a Shinto ceremony at Shirahige Shrine. The Ama is met at the Torii gate by a Shinto priest, who shakes the sakaki for purification. The pair of abalone are taken into the shrine and placed on the altar as an offering. Here, the Ama is praying at the altar. A purification ritual, led by the Shinto priest, is now being performed within the shrine precinct. Here, sacred sakaki plants are being distributed among the participants, including the new ‘Head Ama’. The Head Ama places a sakaki in front of the altar. Here we see the pair of abalone. The abalone are being carried to the entrance of the shrine. The abalone are first removed from the shells. The abalone are carefully cut into thin slices. The abalone is served to the assembled guests, including the Head Ama… and finally to members of the public who have attended this ceremony, Here comes the ferry to take us back to Toba.

令和7年7月5日に三重県鳥羽市菅島で海女の祭典、「しろんご祭」が行われました。
ほら貝を合図に海女たちが海に潜り、つがいのあわびの初採りを競いました。最初に採れたあわびを白髭神社に奉納し、豊漁と会場安全を祈願しました。

This video shows scenes from the Shirongo Festival, which takes place in July every year at Shirongo Beach on Sugashima, an island in Toba Bay, Mie Prefecture. The festival is held in order to worship Shirahige Daimyōjin, the guardian deity of Sugashima, as well as to pray for large catches and safety at sea. A prominent role in the festival is played by female divers, known as “Ama”, who dive for shellfish, in particular abalone.

#japaneseculture #祭り#三重県