Within Shinto, the rhythm of the year is marked by a rich tapestry of festivals, or *matsuri*, through which communities encounter the *kami* and reaffirm their bonds with one another. The New Year period, known as Shōgatsu or Oshōgatsu, is often regarded as the most important observance, when people perform *hatsumōde*, the first shrine visit of the year, to pray for blessings, receive amulets, and participate in special rituals. Around early February comes Setsubun, the seasonal turning point when beans are thrown in the *mamemaki* rite to drive away misfortune and invite good fortune. Other seasonal observances such as Hina Matsuri (the Doll or Girls’ Festival), Tango no Sekku / Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day), and various spring and summer festivals blend shrine visits, family customs, and communal celebrations, often focusing on the health and flourishing of children and the well-being of the household.

Agricultural and cosmic cycles also shape Shinto’s festival calendar. Spring and autumn grand festivals at shrines, including Haru no Taisai and Aki no Taisai, are dedicated to praying for a good planting season and giving thanks for the harvest, with offerings of new rice and produce. At the imperial and national level, ceremonies such as Kannamesai at Ise Grand Shrine and Niiname-sai, associated with the offering of the first fruits of the harvest, express a formal relationship between the ruler, the land, and the *kami*. Even festivals strongly associated with Buddhism, such as Obon and the equinox observances of Higan, are often celebrated in ways that intertwine ancestral reverence with Shinto and folk understandings of spirits and the natural order.

Alongside these seasonal and national observances stand rites that mark the human life cycle and social transitions. Shichi-Go-San, held around November 15, is a significant moment when children aged three, five, and seven are brought to shrines for blessings of health and growth. Coming of Age Day (Seijin-no-Hi) and the practice of *hatsumōde* can likewise be understood as threshold moments, when individuals symbolically step into a new phase of life under the gaze of the *kami*. These rites reveal that Shinto festivals are not only communal spectacles but also intimate encounters, in which families seek protection, gratitude, and guidance.

Finally, each shrine maintains its own distinctive *reisai* or annual grand festival, through which the particular character of its enshrined *kami* and local community is expressed. Famous examples include Gion Matsuri at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, Kanda Matsuri at Kanda Myōjin in Tokyo, and Sannō Matsuri at Hie Shrine, where elaborate processions, *mikoshi* (portable shrines), music, and dance fill the streets. Across the country, countless local *matsuri*—from modest neighborhood gatherings to large-scale celebrations—honor specific deities, mark seasonal changes, and strengthen communal identity. Taken together, these observances show Shinto as a living pattern of festivals in which the sacred is woven into the cycles of time, nature, and everyday human life.