Kinen-sai (祈年祭, also read as Toshigoi no Matsuri)[1]: 32 is a harvest festival that was celebrated every year in ancient Japan on February 4.
[2] In ancient times, people held domestic rites called Kinen-sai in the February or April and Niinamesai in November.
[3]: 34 Tribute was offered to the gods, and the ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials, although the emperor did not participate.
[2] The festival was not longer celebrated in the late Muromachi period due to military conflict.
It was revived in a form called sairō by Shirakawa house, the ruling clan of the Department of Divinities.