Shimonoseki Kaikyo Festival - Senteisai (memorial ceremony for Emperor Antoku)

Event

A ceremony conducted as part of the Shimonoseki Kaikyo Festival by Akama-jingu Shrine memorializing the Taira clan and young Emperor Antoku, who, after being defeated in the Battle of Dan-no-ura, perished by drowning in the sea. The highlight of the event is the Joro Dochu, a grand procession in which performers wearing extravagant traditional costumes parade into Akama-jingu Shrine while performing the soto-hachimonji, a complex and elegant style of walking that is practically a dance. This magnificent sight is sure to captivate. The tradition of the procession is derived from the Taira clan court ladies who survived the battle-every year thereafter, they continued to dress in their best finery and pay homage to the fallen Emperor at the shrine on the date of his death.