The Bon no Ko Hen no Ko Festival is a unique event held every year at the end of July at Matsuo Shrine in Konan City, Shiga Prefecture. During this festival, children from the local community handcraft male and female symbols and parade through the village along with drums and chants. The origin of the festival lies in the shrine’s history of suffering repeated major fires and subsequent reconstructions, and it incorporates prayers for fire prevention. The highlight of the festival is a traditional mid-summer purification ritual, in which a ring of miscanthus grass called "Bon no Ko" is carried and displayed. This allows visitors to experience the region’s distinctive culture firsthand.