Yesterday a friend and I made our way out to SakeOne in Forest Grove for their annual kura blessing by Koichi Barrish of the Tsubaki Grand Shrine. We got there just as the activities where about to start. Wow, a gorgeous day with a huge crowd. The last time I attended this event the weather was cold and misty and everyone easily fit inside the brew house. Not this time. I took some video but I was so far back that there is not much to see or hear in much of it. The following image is where the greatest part of the blessing was preformed. You can just see Koichi in yellow in the center under the hut.
The small Shinto shrine from inside the brew house was moved out to this hut for the blessing. Near the end of the blessing Koichi, followed by the entire group, proceeds around the brew house making four stops for blessings. Below I have two of these on video.
The festivities continued with Takohachi Taiko and Obukan Kendo demonstrating their skills.
My friend and I purchased some draft Nama to go and headed back home.
Cool! thanks for sharing especially the video! I’ve always wanted to see this but could never make it out.
Hey Tim,
I hope you had a wonderful time in Japan. Anyway, an even better video taken on the same day was available but its not any more. Too bad.