Suwa and Misayama

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Suwa and Misayama

***** Location: Nagano, Japan
***** Season: See below
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Suwa Shrine 諏訪大社　Suwa Taisha and the
Lower Suwa Shrine, Misayama　御射山
Shinano, now Nagano prefecture

There are seven wonders in the area, relevant for our kigo is this one:

Hoya-no no Sanko 穂屋野の三光:
The three rays in Hoyano

It is believed that the three rays from the sun ,the moon and a star are to be seen at the same time from the former Misayama Shrine (旧御射山社).
See below.



quote
Suwa taisha (諏訪大社), or Suwa Grand Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Nagano prefecture, Japan. Over 1200 years old, it is one of the oldest shrines in existence, and is mentioned in the Kojiki, an 8th century text. It consists of four building complexes, the Maemiya (前宮, lit. old shrine), the Honmiya (本宮, main shrine), the Harumiya (春宮, spring shrine), and the Akimiya (秋宮, autumn shrine).
source : wikipedia


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kigo for early spring

Suwa no onbashira matsuri
諏訪の御柱祭 (すわのおんばしらまつり)
festival of the Suwa shrine pillars
onbashira matsuri 御柱祭（おんばしらまつり）"Suwa Pillar Festival"
Suwa matsuri 諏訪祭（すわまつり）Suwa festival
onbashira satobiki 御柱里曳（おんばしらさとびき）




quote
Onbashira (御柱祭) is a festival held every six years in the Lake Suwa area of Nagano, Japan. The purpose of the festival is to symbolically renew the Suwa Taisha or Suwa Grand Shrine. "Onbashira" can be literally translated as "the honored pillars".

The Onbashira festival is reputed to have continued, uninterrupted, for 1200 years. The festival is held once every six years, in the years of the Monkey and the Tiger in the Chinese Zodiac, however the locals may say "once in seven years," because of the traditional Japanese custom of including the current year when counting a length of time.

Onbashira lasts several months, and consists of two segments, Yamadashi and Satobiki.
Yamadashi traditionally takes place in April,
and Satobiki takes place in May.

"Yamadashi" literally means "coming out of the mountains." Before this portion of the festival, huge trees are cut down in a Shinto ceremony using axes and adzes specially manufactured for this single use. The logs are decorated in red and white regalia, the traditional colors of Shinto ceremonies, and ropes are attached. During Yamadashi, Teams of men drag the logs down the mountain towards the four shrines of Suwa Taisha. The course of the logs goes over rough terrain, and at certain points the logs must be skidded or dropped down steep slopes. Young men prove their bravery by riding the logs down the hill in a ceremony known as "Ki-otoshi."

"Satobiki" festival involves the symbolic placement of the new logs to support the foundation of the shrine buildings. The logs are raised by hand, with a ceremonial group of log bearers who ride the log as it is being raised and sing from the top of the log to announce the successful raising. This ceremony was performed as part of the opening ceremonies of the Nagano Olympics in 1998.

After two festivals, there is an important event "Building of Hoden". This event isn't generally famous, and few people know that the event is held even among people who live nearby and participate in Yamadashi and Satobiki. The end of this event marks the end of Onbashira.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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source : genjin.cool.ne.jp
with more photos


kigo for early autumn

Misayama matsuri 御射山祭 (みさやままつり)
Misayama festival
hoya 穂屋（ほや）"hut with a thatched wall"
hoya matsuri 穂屋祭（ほやまつり） Festival of the thatched hut"

on the 27th of the 7th lunar month,
now on August 27 - 28.

Shrine Misayama Jinja 御射山神社 and the "Lower Shrine 下社" of Suwa.
The mountain was the hunting ground of the Suwa area.
Misayama, lit. "Honorable Mountain for Shooting".

A hut with thatched walls from pampas grass was erected for the shrine priest and young men of the village to stay over night. They had to participate in various purifying rituals, Then they had to perform hunting acrobatics like shooting from horseback 遠笠懸 and falconry. Now there are also shooting performances.
御射山御狩神事



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kigo for the New Year

kawazugari no shinji 蛙狩の神事 (かわずがりのしんじ)
ceremony of hunting for frogs
Frog Hunting Shrine Ritual
..... kawazutobi no shinji 蛙飛びの神事（かわずとびのしんじ）
frog-jumping ritual

On the morning of January 1, three or four frogs hibernation along the river bank of the river Mitarashigawa 御手洗川 are dug up and shot at with a small ritual bow and arrow made from willow wood.
This helps to predict the harvest of the coming year. Sometimes the frogs jump away and this direction a lucky direction.


Look at more photos here:
source :　suwataisya/sinj

This is a prayer for peace and a good harvest in the coming year and one of the seven wonders at the Suwa shrine.

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kigo for the New Year

Sakanbe no fuyu matsuri 坂部の冬祭 (さかんべのふゆまつり)
Winter Festival in Sakanbe (Sakabe)



In Sakabe, part of Tenryu Village near the Suwa Shrine, and in other villages relating to the shrine.
It used to be held on the last month of the lunar year, but now on January 4.
People from each village go to the River Tenryuugawa　天竜川 to get pure water and bring it to the shrine in the hills near the village.
It is a ritual of "boiling water divination" (yudate 湯立て). The hot water is scattered over the participants to purify them.
Afterwards, a fest is held, sometimes ritual dancing and other performances.


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

The 7 wonders of
Lower Shrine of Great Shrines of Suwa

1
Omiwatari (御神渡: literally. God's Crossing )
Once upon a time, there were a goddess named Yasakatome-no Mikoto (八坂刀売命) and a god, Takeminakata-no Mikoto (建御名方命). When the Goddess alone moved to the Lower Shrine, the God missed her so much but found that Lake Suwa was too large to cross. Then, when Lake Suwa was frozen over, he took the chance and walked over the ice to her shrine.
Today his footsteps are said to be Omiwatari. (This natural phenomenon is said to be caused as water expands with freezing in winter. The straight line of the sharp upheaval appears on the surface, and is called Omiwatari.) People used to regard Omiwatari as the sign which insured safety on the ice. When it came, they would step on Lake Suwa.

2
Misakuda-no wase (御作田の早稲:　Early-ripening rice plants in Misakuda)
A rice-planting festival held on July 30th. The rice planted in the festival ripens in 60 days according to the old legend.

3
Gokoku no Tsutsu-gayu (五穀の筒粥: The porridge of five staple grains in the reed straws )
A ritual performed at Tsutsugayuden (筒粥殿: lit. the hall in which to cook the porridge in reed straws) in Haru Shrine. On the evening of January 14th. , rice and azuki-beans are cooked in a pot , into which a bunch of 42 reed straws are put .The next morning ,they perform auguries by the amount of porridge and azuki-beans trapped in the reed straws and “Divination never fails to be true”.

4
Yuguchi-no Seidaku (湯口の清濁: Purity and impurity of hot spring water from the spout)
Legend has it that the company of an unclean person in the public bath, Watanoyu (綿の湯), makes the hot spring water from the spout cloudy.

5
Neiri-no Sugi (寝入の杉: The cedar asleep)
The fabled tall cedar called Otakara gi (お宝木: lit. the treasure tree) on the premises of Aki Shrine.
It is still told to this day that the cedar falls asleep with its branches 10 cm lowered in the middle of the night, when its snoring can be heard.

6
Ukishima (浮島: The floating island)
An island on the Togawa (砥川: River To), which runs through the rear of the Haru Shrine. On the island is Ukishima sha (浮島社: a small shrine on Ukishima) Legend credits the island with the ability of surviving any floodwaters.

7
Hoyano-no Sanko (穂屋野の三光: The three rays in Hoyano)
It is believed that the three rays from the sun ,the moon and a star are to be seen at the same time from the former Misayama Shrine (旧御射山社).
source : Legends and folk tales of Suwa




. omiwatari 御神渡 (おみわたり) gods crossing the frozen lake 　
kigo for late winter

Akenoumi 開けの海　means the lake does not freeze and there is no omiwatari in a year.
This happened in February 21, 2009, just before the ceremony before Yatsurugi Shrine 八剣神社 in Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture.


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HAIKU


御射山やけふ一日のはなすすき
Misayama ya kyoo ichi nichi no hana susuki

Misayama--
today, all day
blooming pampas grass

Kobayashi Issa 一茶
Tr. David Lanoue


More haiku by Issa about this area

御射山や一日に出来し神の里　

御謝山の晴にくねるか女郎花　

寝祭りや我御射山の初尾花　

花芒吹草臥て寝たりけり

みさ山の芒序や風祭り　

みさ山や見ても涼しきすゝき箸　

みさ山やこんな在所も女郎花　

野庵も穂屋の御役ニ立けり
noan mo hoya no o-yaku ni tachi-keri



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Related words


The great shrine Suwa Taisha Kamisha (Upper Suwa Shrine) 諏訪神社上社 issued special amulet-permits and the chopsticks to eat "meat from the mountains", which took away the "spiritual pollution" when eating meat.
kajiki no men 鹿食之免料理
***** . kajikibashi 鹿食箸
chopsticks to eat "mountain meat"
from Suwa Shrine

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. Niino no yukimatsuri 新野の雪祭 (にいののゆきまつり)
snow festival at Niino .
Tenryu, Nagano



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