For Today’s Japan photo, we will take a look at a very unique festival event called Mochi Age Riki Hono 餅上げ力奉納, where men and women try to lift a heavy piece of rice cake to pray for their health and happiness.

This photo was taken off Manichi Japan, and here’s the excerpt:

A woman tries to lift a 90-kilogram kagami-mochi during a rice cake lifting competition at Godai Rikison Ninno-e Festival at Daigo-ji Temple in Kyoto’s Fushimi Ward on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010. During the event, men and women compete to see how long they can lift the double-decker rice cakes. Men have to lift rice cakes weighing 150 kilograms, while women have to pick up ones that weigh 90 kilograms. Winners were awarded the upper half of the gigantic rice cakes. (Mainichi)

Here’s a little more information on the Godai Rikison Ninno-e Festival 五大力尊仁王会 and the Mochi Age Riki Hono 餅上げ力奉納:

Godai Rikison Ninno-e Festival 五大力尊仁王会 is a festival held annually on 23 Feb 2010 at Daigo-ji 醍醐寺, a Shingon Buddhist temple in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan.

Monks would pray for peace, health and happiness of the country and people. Prior to the festival, more than 1000 monks from all the mountains in Daigoji gather and stay in a hall for a week up until the day of the festival to thoroughly pray with paper charms called Mie. This pre-event ceremony is open to visitors.

On the day of the festival, more than 100,000 visitors join the ceremony and get the paper charms which can later be spotted everywhere in Kyoto especially at entrances of old stores and houses.

In recent years, Mochi Age Riki Hono 餅上げ力奉納 (dedication of power by lifting a rice cake) has been famous. In this event, male participants try to lift a 150 kg piece of rice cake and female visitors try 90 kg to dedicate power and pray for their health and happiness.