Sashiage (差し上げ)
Sashiage is a way of lifting up votive objects for a Shinto home shrine, which are of a shouldered type used at a festival, such as Mikoshi (a portable shrine), Taikodai (a drum stand), Futon Daiko (a mattress drum) or Dashi (a float), higher than usual.
Sashiage for Mikoshi
The most popular way of sashiage of Mikoshi is that carriers lift a pole up high above their head, hold it with one hand, and hit the pole by the other hand to the call of a leader. Doing it this way makes Mikoshi very unstable; the carriers keep the Mikoshi lifted up over their heads to stand it still.
Sashiage for Taikodai
The way of sashiage of Taikodai varies from region to region; the most common way is that carriers lift the pole up high like Mikoshi. However, Katsugi Yatai (a large float used to carry drums at a festival) called Taikodai is generally heavier than Mikoshi (from several hundred kilograms to nearly 2 tons), so naturally, it is almost impossible to hold it with one hand like Mikoshi.
Other styles include as follows:
Throwing it straight up;
Lifting it up from its architrave (the bottom of Taikodai);
Moving it up and down widely and repeatedly (up and down repeatedly between the shoulder level and sashiage (the highest-lifted) position);
Lifting up and down, back and forth, alternately and violently;
As mentioned above, there are many original styles of lifting up Taikodai in each region.
Sashiage for Dashi
Dashi is broadly divided into two: Hikidashi (a decorated float pulled by hand) and Kakidashi (a decorated float shouldered by people); Hikidashi can also be sashiage. However, it is too heavy (from nearly 1 ton to several tens of tons) to be lifted up completely; the common way is that carriers shift Dashi's weight on one side of its wheels so that these wheels are attached to the ground, and lift up Dashi from the other side of the wheels.
Kakidashi is structurally light so as to be lifted up, and it includes more showy performances as follows, which are also commonly observed features of Sashiage for Taikodai.
Lifting it up from its architrave;
Lifting it up overhead by hand;
Throwing it straight up;