ON Saturday, Oct. 28, the Saipan Katori Shrine Annual Ceremony was held by Shinto priests from Katori City, Japan at Sugar King Park in Garapan.
According to Japanese Society of the Northern Mariana Islands Vice President Hiroko Tenorio, this was the first ceremony conducted on Saipan since the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions halted travel between Saipan and Japan.
“It’s been a long three years and we are very honored to have them back on the islands to celebrate,” Tenorio said.
At the ceremony, visiting Shinto priests created an altar inside the Saipan Katori Shrine and blessed the offerings they had laid there.
At the event’s conclusion, High Priest Takeshi Katori expressed his appreciation for the connection between Saipan and Katori City.
“We are particularly thankful for the presence of Mayor Tomonori Ito of Katori City, which entered the sister city agreement with [Saipan] two years ago,” he said in a media release. “We hope that [Saipan and Katori City] will join hand in hand to deepen broad exchanges, pass down traditions from generation to generation, and mutually develop…. I hope the annual ceremony…will continue for many years to come.”
The Northern Marianas Humanities Council, which blazed a trail about the Saipan Katori Shrine as part of its Garapan Heritage Trail project, said the shrine is an “enduring link to Saipan’s Shinto past.”
The original shrine was built on a hill that the Japanese called Katoriyama in 1914 at the site now known as Sugar King Park. In 1916, the shrine was moved to a cave on Katoriyama after being damaged by a typhoon.
In 1931, at the request of “Sugar King” Haruji Matsue, a larger shrine was built at the base of Katoriyama to serve the rapidly growing Japanese population of Saipan. This shrine would be damaged by shellfire during World War II.
In 1985, the Katori Shrine Association built the current Saipan Katori Shrine.
“This year will be the 38th year of reconstruction — it was not an easy task to hold a ceremony overseas,” said High Priest Takeshi.
CNMI officials who attended the ceremony on Saturday included Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang, House Speaker Edmund Villagomez and Mayor RB Camacho.
The Shinto priests arrived on island with Katori City Mayor Tomonori Ito.
Two Katori Shrine officials make their entrance at the Saipan Katori Shrine.
Two Katori Shrine members await the start of the Shinto ceremony at the Saipan Katori Shrine in Garapan in 2023.
Katori Shrine officials perform a ritual dance during the Saipan Katori Shrine Annual Ceremony.
The Saipan Katori Shrine Annual Ceremony was conducted on Oct. 28 at Sugar King Park in Garapan.
A Katori Shrine priest participates in the Saipan Katori Shrine Annual Ceremony.
High Priest Takeshi Katori, right.
High Priest Takeshi Katori delivers his remarks during the Saipan Katori Shrine Annual Ceremony.
