{
  "id": 5037743,
  "title": "Kashima Shrine Holds Once-in-12-Years Ofune Festival",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/kashima-shrine-holds-once-in-12-years-ofune-festival",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-02T07:02:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "News On Japan",
    "slug": "news-on-japan",
    "url": "https://newsonjapan.com/article/150600.php"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kashima Shrine in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, celebrated its Ofune Festival on September 2, showcasing a grand display of over 100 exquisitely adorned boats gliding through rivers and across lakes. This once-in-12-year tradition, held during the Year of the Horse, transformed the surrounding waterways into a vibrant spectacle, drawing spectators along the riverbanks who cheered the passing fleet. The Ofune Festival, a time-honored custom dating back approximately 1,700 years, is considered one of the most significant ceremonial events in the region's extensive network of rivers and lakes.",
  "summary": "Kashima Shrine in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, held its Ofune Festival on September 2, with a spectacular fleet of more than 100 brightly decorated boats sailing along rivers and across lakes in a tradition staged once every 12 years during the Year of the Horse. (News On Japan)",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}