2-731-220 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Hotohoto Festival at Izumo Grand Shrine, from the series Views of Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces, 1853. Izumo Shrine is a Shinto shrine on Honshu Island. The Japanese believe that Shinto kami (divine spirits) leave their own shrines for a month in October or November-depending on the lunar calendar-and travel to Izumo Shrine. During this time, a festival is held in which celebrants carrying lighted torches lead the kami to the shrine.