Mikoshi

A mikoshi of Hiyoshi-taisha.
Mikoshi fighting on Nada-no-Kenka Matsuri at Himeji.
This mikoshi enshrines Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Tōshō-gū in Nikkō

A mikoshi (神輿) is a sacred religious palanquin (also translated as portable Shinto shrine). Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle to transport a deity in Japan while moving between main shrine and temporary shrine during a festival or when moving to a new shrine. Often, the mikoshi resembles a miniature building, with pillars, walls, a roof, a veranda and a railing.

Often the Japanese honorific prefix o- () is added, making omikoshi (お神輿).