Ritual collecting seaweed

A Shinto shrine in Japan’s western prefecture of Fukuoka has held a traditional ritual of collecting seaweed from the ocean and offering it before an altar to pray for navigational safety and a large catch.

The event is said to have originated more than 1,800 years ago. The priests wearing traditional costumes headed to the sea before dawn and cut wakame seaweed grown on the rocky reefs with a sickle and put it in a pail.

It is said that the seaweed, which sprouts early in the midst of winter, brings good luck. The priests offered the seaweed before the altar and prayed for safety at sea and a bountiful catch in the New Year. The ritual of collecting the seaweed has been designated an intangible folk cultural asset by Fukuoka Prefecture.