Needles put to rest 針の安らぎの場

A memorial service for needles (針供養 hari kuyō) is held annually on February 8th at the Egaraten Shrine (荏柄天神社), located in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture.

Mostly women, but some men too, bring bent, rusted, broken, and otherwise exhausted needles to the shrine. After priests perform Shinto prayers (祝詞 norito), several blocks of tofu (bean curd) are placed before the assembled crowd. Then the participants bring forth their needles and prick them into the soft surface of the tofu, offering a final, soothing repose. Pressing their palms together in silent prayer, the shrinegoers express gratitude to the needles, who have sacrificed their tiny steel bodies to assist in the work of housewives, seamstresses, kimono makers, and hobbyists.

As the festival ends, elementary school students stop to pray at the shrine on their way home.

Miko (Shrine maiden).

Ume (plum) tree blossoms.

Repose for Tea Whisks 茶筅供養

Bamboo tea whisks, known as chasen 茶筅, are delicately crafted tools which produce many a fine cup of tea. On occasion, memorial services are given to those whisks who have retired from service.  In Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture on June 4, 2010,  I witnessed as a small group of devotees to the art of making tea bid farewell to their whisks which were sent off through a ritual burning.

A sign announces the memorial service for tea whisks.

Roadside Jizo 道端に立つお地蔵

Women prepare for an annual memorial prayer for those who have died in traffic accidents.

Kanda Myojin Shrine 神田明神

Paper lanterns offered in prayer

Article: Folk performance 論文：伝統芸能

An article (in Japanese) examining the traditional folk performances has been earlier published in the journal of the Folklore Society of Aomori Prefectures. (PDF)

「中野神楽におけるイエの祭り―三戸郡南郷村中野地区の事例から―」という論文を青森県民俗の会の 『青森県の民俗』 第四号に2004年に載せられました。ここで、改めて紹介します。(PDF)

論文の抜粋

一、はじめに

イエを舞台に行われてきた信仰に基づく行事や祭りは、戦後民法によるイエ制度崩壊の影響を受け、近年の農村においても希薄になった感がある。そのようにして古い習慣がすたれつつある現代ではあるが、青森県三戸郡南郷村において、今もなお年に一回開催される春祈祷は、人々の紐帯の機会となっている。

本稿では、南郷村で現在も活発に活躍している「中野神楽」を事例に取り上げ、小正月の春祈祷で実施されている、カドウチとオミキアゲに注目することにしたい。この行事に注目することで、現代日本におけるイエと信仰の関係を明らかにできればと考える。

二、中野神楽

南郷村においては複数の神楽保存会が活動しているが、中野地区では、中野神楽が同地区出身の七人の男性により伝承されている。この山伏系統の神楽で中心となる演目は、「権現舞」である。この舞で焦点となる「権現様」（獅子頭のこと）は、少なくとも二百七十四年前からこの地で神様として祀られてきたと考えられている。「奉再光中野村中常院享保十五年十月六日」という獅子頭にある銘が、権現様の古さを示しているというのである。中野神楽で祀る権現様は「中野権現様」と通称され、中野金毘羅大権現とも呼ばれている・・・

「中野神楽におけるイエの祭り―三戸郡南郷村中野地区の事例から―」 『青森県の民俗』第四号, 2004年5月22日, 頁95～101.

Mid-winter festival procession 真冬の祭り

Dyad guardians at the crossroads 村を守る夫婦

Male and female straw effigies stand guard at the entrance to a rural hamlet (Towada City, Aomori prefecture)

Lift a stone, prove your strength 力石

An older form of entertainment that is now unseen in Japan, was the lifting of heavy stones, often during festival times. Put simply, a test of strength. The rocks, which come in various sizes, are generally known as chikara ishi 力石, literally “strength stones.”

Dousing the Evil Flame 米川の水かぶり

On January 12, 2017, I was witness to the Mizukaburi Festival of Yonekawa (米川の水かぶり) in the City of Tome, Miyagi prefecture. This is an annual festival which is said to be over 800 years old.

Dontosai どんと祭 (The Naked Festival)

The Dontosai Festival is held every January 14th. The previous year’s talismans and amulets are ritually burnt. Exposing themselves to the cold, a number of men and women parade to the shrine to receive the blessings of the enshrined deities (photo: Sendai, Miyagi prefecture).

Truck Art デコトラ

The truck is king of the road in Japan. And there is a special breed of truck that is both distinctively fearsome, yet elegant: kind of like Las Vegas on wheels. These trucks are called decotora, which is a melded abbreviation of the words “decorated” and “truck”.  Decotora can be seen all throughout Japan though it is said that the original decotora was driven by a trucker from Aomori prefecture.

Tanabata 仙台の七夕

According to legend, on the night of the seventh day of the seven month (July) the two stars, Altair (牽牛星 Kengyūsei) and Vega (織女星 Shokujosei) are allowed to cross the Milky Way (天の川 Amanogawa, literally the “river of heaven”). From this once a year cosmological occurrence an annual event has emerged known as Tanabata 七夕 (“night of the seventh”). The Tanabata ritual festival consists mainly of decorating lengths of bamboo with colorful paper decorations on which wishes are written. In doing so, it is hoped that the wishes will come true. Tanabata has come to be associated with Obon お盆 (the summer festival when the spirits of the dead return to the land of the living) because it acts as a purification ritual (禊ぎ misogi) in preparation for greeting the returning spirits of dead ancestors during Obon. The making of decorations and the subsequent celebrating of Tanabata is widespread, although the festival held in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture is particularly famous drawing large numbers of tourists from all over Japan.