Shitenno-ji – Doya-Doya Festival

The Doya-Doya Festival is a festival in which boys wearing loincloths and headbands scramble to gather evil-warding charms.
In the past, it was said that hanging the charms from this festival in your rice fields would ward off pests and grant an abundant harvest.
The name “Doya-Doya” is said to come from the sound of the gathered crowd’s footsteps.
The festival was originally participated in by the locals, but today, to avoid confusion and disorder, it is primarily held for kindergarten and junior high school students, and for high school students.
Visitors who come to Shitenno-ji to pray cannot participate in the festival, but amulets of Gyu-o-Hoin are available for purchase for 1000 yen each.