Omizutori - The Legend of Omizutori

The Legend of Omizutori

There are different legends of the origin of Omizutori. One of these legends suggests that the founder of Shuni-e, Jitchu, invited 13,700 of the gods to the ceremony. One of the gods, Onyu-myojin was late to the ceremony because he was fishing on the Onyu River. To make up for the fact that he was late, he then offered scented water from the Onyu River, and the water suddenly sprung up from the spot where the god once stood.

The story of how Shuni-e came to be continues to portray the original founder of Shuni-e, Jitchu, as the central character. It is told that the priest, Jitchu, made a journey deep into the mountains of Kasagi in 751 where he witnessed celestial beings performing a ceremony that was meant to cleanse and ask for repentance. Jitchu was so overwhelmed by the ceremony that he decided to bring the rite to the human world. He was warned that this would be a daunting task, but his desire was so strong that he believed he could overcome the task of transferring the rite between the heavens and the world of man. He decided that if he could perform the religious ceremony 1,000 times a day at running speed, he could bring the god's ceremony into his world.

The festival was held on March 1 to March 14, 2010.