Hiromine Shrine
On April 18, the Hozorai Festival and horse-running ceremony take place, marking the end of the Shinto ritual that began on April 3. During the Hozorai Festival, the Shinto priest announces the results of the year's bountiful rice varieties and decorates the main shrine with three types of rice - Wase, Nakate, and Okute - that have been dedicated by neighboring farmers. In the past, some people received the dedicated rice paddy and sowed it in the nurseries of their own rice fields. The horse-running ceremony that follows is intended to boost the economy. Shinto priests dressed in costumes of military officers of the imperial court ride several horses and make three round trips from the Otabisho (Tenso-jinja Shrine) to the front of the main shrine. The priest must complete the race without falling off the horse to ensure a bountiful harvest. However, if the horse jumps or falls, it is believed that the harvest will be poor. During the Edo period, ten horses ran, and there were representations of the Himeji lords and horse presentations. Nowadays, only three horses run. Together with the rice planting festival, the Hozorai Festival and horse-running ceremony is the largest festival of the shrine, and it is said that the number of worshipers exceeded 100,000 before the war.