Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows fishing boats parading in the Genkai Sea off Munakata in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka on Oct. 1, 2025, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festivities at Munakata shrine to wish for a bountiful seafood catch and safety at sea.

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows fishing boats parading in the Genkai Sea off Munakata in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka on Oct. 1, 2025, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festivities at Munakata shrine to wish for a bountiful seafood catch and safety at sea.

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows fishing boats parading in the Genkai Sea off Munakata in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka on Oct. 1, 2025, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festivities at Munakata shrine to wish for a bountiful seafood catch and safety at sea.

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows fishing boats parading in the Genkai Sea off Munakata in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka on Oct. 1, 2025, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festivities at Munakata shrine to wish for a bountiful seafood catch and safety at sea.

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Fishing boats parade in the Genkai Sea off Munakata in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka on Oct. 1, 2024, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festival at Munakata shrine to wish for a bountiful seafood catch and safety at sea.

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Fishing boats parade in the Genkai Sea off Munakata in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka on Oct. 1, 2024, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festival at Munakata shrine to wish for a bountiful seafood catch and safety at sea.

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Maritime festival in southwestern Japan

Fishing boats parade in the Genkai Sea off Munakata in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka on Oct. 1, 2024, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festival at Munakata shrine to wish for a bountiful seafood catch and safety at sea.

Maritime ritual at southwestern Japan shrine

Maritime ritual at southwestern Japan shrine

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows fishing boats parading through the Genkai Sea off Munakata in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka on Oct. 1, 2023, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festival at Munakata shrine to wish for a bountiful seafood catch and safety at sea.

Maritime ritual at southwestern Japan shrine

Maritime ritual at southwestern Japan shrine

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows fishing boats parading through the Genkai Sea off Munakata in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka on Oct. 1, 2023, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festival at Munakata shrine to wish for a bountiful seafood catch and safety at sea.

Autumn festival at Munakata Shrine begins

Autumn festival at Munakata Shrine begins

FUKUOKA, Japan, Oct. 1 Kyodo - About 200 fishing boats parade in the Genkai Sea, the southwestern portion of the Sea of Japan, off the city of Munakata in Fukuoka Prefecture, western Japan, on Oct. 1, 2017, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festival at Munakata Shrine, a World Cultural Heritage site. The event is held to pray for the safety of sea traffic and a good haul.

Bid to add Munakata-Okinoshima monuments to World Heritage list

Bid to add Munakata-Okinoshima monuments to World Heritage list

File photo taken July 25, 2015, shows a shrine pavilion in the southwestern Japan city of Munakata, part of the Munakata-Okinoshima monuments. On July 28, a government panel picked the monuments for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2017. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Bid to add Munakata-Okinoshima monuments to World Heritage list

Bid to add Munakata-Okinoshima monuments to World Heritage list

File photo taken July 25, 2015, shows a shrine pavilion in the southwestern Japan city of Munakata, part of the Munakata-Okinoshima monuments. On July 28, a government panel picked the monuments for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2017. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Plan to recommend sacred island for UNESCO list sparks mixed feelings

Plan to recommend sacred island for UNESCO list sparks mixed feelings

Photo taken in November, 2015, shows the inside of Munakata Grand Shrine's Okitsu no Miya pavilion on Okinoshima Island off Fukuoka Prefecture. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Plan to recommend sacred island for UNESCO list sparks mixed feelings

Plan to recommend sacred island for UNESCO list sparks mixed feelings

Photo taken in November, 2015, shows gold-copper dragon heads, designated a national treasure, displayed at the Munakata Grand Shrine museum in the city of Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture. They were found in the remains of ritual structures on sacred Okinoshima Island off Fukuoka. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Plan to recommend sacred island for UNESCO list sparks mixed feelings

Plan to recommend sacred island for UNESCO list sparks mixed feelings

Photo taken in November, 2015, shows Munakata Grand Shrine's Okitsu no Miya pavilion on Okinoshima Island off Fukuoka Prefecture. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Repair of World Heritage-listed shrine in Japan

Repair of World Heritage-listed shrine in Japan

Priests at World Heritage-listed Munakata Taisha shrine in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, pray on June 1, 2020, ahead of the planned repair of a main component of the shrine for the first time in about 50 years. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Repair of World Heritage-listed shrine in Japan

Repair of World Heritage-listed shrine in Japan

Priests at World Heritage-listed Munakata Taisha shrine in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, pray on June 1, 2020, ahead of the planned repair of a main component of the shrine for the first time in about 50 years. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Repair of World Heritage-listed shrine in Japan

Repair of World Heritage-listed shrine in Japan

Priests at World Heritage-listed Munakata Taisha shrine in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, pray on June 1, 2020, ahead of the planned repair of a main component of the shrine for the first time in about 50 years. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Repair of World Heritage-listed shrine in Japan

Repair of World Heritage-listed shrine in Japan

Priests at World Heritage-listed Munakata Taisha shrine in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, pray on June 1, 2020, ahead of the planned repair of a main component of the shrine for the first time in about 50 years. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Repair of World Heritage-listed shrine in Japan

Repair of World Heritage-listed shrine in Japan

Priests at World Heritage-listed Munakata Taisha shrine in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, pray on June 1, 2020, ahead of the planned repair of a main component of the shrine for the first time in about 50 years. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Autumn festival at Munakata Shrine begins

Autumn festival at Munakata Shrine begins

About 200 fishing boats parade in the Genkai Sea, the southwestern portion of the Sea of Japan, off the city of Munakata in Fukuoka Prefecture, western Japan, on Oct. 1, 2017, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festival at Munakata Shrine, a World Cultural Heritage site. The event is held to pray for the safety of sea traffic and a good haul. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Autumn festival at Munakata Shrine begins

Autumn festival at Munakata Shrine begins

About 200 fishing boats parade in the Genkai Sea, the southwestern portion of the Sea of Japan, off the city of Munakata in Fukuoka Prefecture, western Japan, on Oct. 1, 2017, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festival at Munakata Shrine, a World Cultural Heritage site. The event is held to pray for the safety of sea traffic and a good haul. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Sacred Japanese island recommended for UNESCO heritage list

Sacred Japanese island recommended for UNESCO heritage list

Hiromi Tanii (R), the mayor of Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, displays a poster announcing a decision by a UNESCO preliminary review panel recommending the local island of Okinoshima and reefs nearby be registered on the world's cultural heritage list, at the city hall on May 6, 2017. The island is home to Okitsu-Miya Shrine, which was used for prayer rituals during Japan's exchanges with the Asian continent in the fourth to ninth centuries. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo