Kurama Festivals

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Kurama Festivals

***** Location: Mt. Kurama, Japan
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Mount Kurama
(鞍馬山, Kurama-yama)
is a mountain to the north-west of the city of Kyoto. It is the birthplace of the Reiki practice, and is said to be the home of Sōjōbō, King of the Tengu, who taught swordsmanship to Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Kurama is also the location of the annual Kurama Fire Festival (鞍馬の火祭り, Kurama no Hi-matsuri), which takes place every October. Kurama Temple (鞍馬寺, Kuramadera) is now designated as a national treasure of Japan.

Kurama-dera, a Buddhist temple, is located in the wooded slopes above Kurama town. From its main gate in the town's center, the main buildings can be reached in a 30-45minute climb up the mountain. A cablecar leads halfway up.

Along the ascent to Kurama-dera stands Yuki Jinja 由岐神社, a shrine famous for its Fire Festival held annually on October 22. Kurama-dera's main buildings stand on a terrace on the mountain's slope, overlooking the wooded valley.

The philosopher Hayashi Razan lists one of the three greatest of the daitengu as Sōjōbō 僧正坊 of Mount Kurama. The tengu goblins of Kurama and Atago are among the most famous tengu of Japan.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


- - - - - Tengupedia - - - - -
. 四十八天狗 48 Tengu of Japan .

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Three are three main deities venerated at the temple



sonten 尊天 symbolizing all things

千手観世音菩薩 Senju Kannon
毘沙門天王 Bishamonten (in the center)
護法魔王尊 Gohoo Maoo Son

Bishamonten symbolizes light and the sun
Kannon symabolizes love and the moon
Goho Mao Son symbolizes power and the earth.



Goho Mao Son, the great King of the conquerors of evil and the spirit of the earth, looks almost like a tengu himself.
Legend says he came to earth from Venus more than 6500000 years ago.
He is shown as a male of the age 16 and remains young for ever.
He is a special secret Buddha of Kurama temple.

quote
Mao-son, Bishamon-ten, and Senju-kannon are the symbols of the universal soul, forming a Trinity known as "Sonten" or the "Supreme Deity". Sonten is the "Living Soul", the "Supreme Soul of the universe", the "Glorious Light", and the "Activity of the Soul".
These three are the symbols of power, light, and love. We worship Sonten as the composite of all three.
"We trust in Sonten for all things." Sonten is the creator of the universe, and cultivates the development of everything all over the earth. He rests deeps in our individual minds, and causes the "Great Self" or "Atman" to wake up within our hearts. He gives us new power and glorious light.

More than six million years ago, Mao-son (the great king of the conquerors of evil and the spirit of the earth) descended upon Mt. Kurama from Venus, with the great mission of the salvation of mankind. Since then, Mao-son's powerful spirit governing the development and the evolution not only of mankind but of all living things on Earth has been emanating from Mt. Kurama, and a priest named Gantei received the spiritual transmission.
source : www.ihreiki.com

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kigo for late spring



Kurama no Hana Kuyoo 鞍馬の花供養
Flower Ceremony at Kurama
hana kuyoo 花供養（はなくよう）Flower Ceremony
flower dedication
hana gu senboo 花供懺法（はなぐせんぽう）

It used to be for five days from April 18 till 22, but now it is for seven days till 24.

At the temple Kuramadera flowers are offered and prayers of repentance (senboo) are spoken.
During this period,the main deity, Tamonten (Bishamonten), which is usually hidden (hibutsu), is shown to the public.

Small children in court robes form a procession and throw artificial blossoms for the visitors.
There are performances of dance, kyogen, songs, tea ceremonies and more by the believers of Bishamonten. Every day there is something else to enjoy.



午の鐘響き渡るや花供養
uma no kane hibiki-wataru ya hana kuyoo

the mid-day bell
reverberates far and wide -
flower ceremony

. Takahama Kyoshi 高浜虚子 　

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kigo for mid-summer



Kurama no take kiri 鞍馬の竹伐 (くらまのたけきり)
cutting bamboo at Kurama
takekiri 竹筏（たけきり）
Kurama no renge e 鞍馬の蓮華会（くらまのれんげえ）
Kurama Lotus Ceremony

Kurama no take kiri eshiki
鞍馬の竹伐会式（くらまのたけきりえしき）
ceremony of cutting bamboo at Kurama


On June 20 at temple Kuramadera.

Four bamboo poles in front of the main temple hall are cut by two groups of people clad in formal robes, the east and west group. They use special woodman's hatchets (山刀) and fight for speed. The group which finishes first will be used to divine the harvest of the coming autumn.

quote
Takekiri-eshiki is a bamboo-cutting ceremony based on a story about the monk Buen　（峯延）. The legend is that one day while Buen was undertaking austerities in the mountains monstrous male and female serpents attacked him. After the monk cut and killed the male serpent by chanting a powerful mantra the female serpent pleaded for mercy and promised to help people to make a stream from the mountain. The serpent kept her word and since then the villagers could enjoy affluent water and worshiped the serpent by creating a little shrine.

In the annual ceremony eight male parishioners clad in costumes of warrior monks form two teams. Upon a signal the teams rush out to cut 4m long and 10cm thick green bamboo poles with strokes of mountain hatchets (山刀) into eight pieces. The poles symbolise the serpents, which are incarnations of evil. The ceremony is performed to pray for a bountiful harvest. The area represented by the winning team will enjoy rich harvests that year.
The teams of Omi and Tanba represent the eastern and western sides of Mt Kurama. In ancient times the area around Lake Biwa was called Omi and parts of Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures Tanba.

The pieces of cut bamboo are believed to guard homes against misfortune. At the end of the ritual, a female bamboo, roots intact, is returned and replanted in the grove from which the male trees were taken.


Monk Gantei （鑑禎）
Kurama temple has its origin in the monk Gantei who had a dream about being guided to a sacred place on the saddle of a white horse. He followed this spiritual transmission and the horse brought him to the foot of the mountain, where he built a small thatched temple to Bishamonten. Years later, Isendo Fujiwara was also guided on horseback to the mountain with the intent of building a temple to the Thousand-armed Kannon Bodhisattva. Gantei’s temple became known as Kurama-dera (Horse-saddle temple) due to Gantei and Fujiwara both being guided there on saddle-back.


Tagyuraku 打毬楽
Tagyuraku is a kind of polo dance in which the dancers are dressed as courtiers of the Heian period. Polo was an ancient Persian sport known in China of the Tang dynasty and thence introduced into Nara of the Heian period. It is said that 88 or 40 persons played this polo like game on horseback. What is now left from the game is the music accompanying traditional court dance.
source : photojapan.karigrohn.com
Look at the photos of this link !


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kigo for late autumn

. Kurama no hi matsuri 鞍馬の火祭
Kurama Fire Festival 　
October 22


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kigo for the New Year

. Kurama mairi 鞍馬詣（くらままいり)
first visit to temple Kuramadera 　
Kurama hatsu tora mairi 鞍馬初寅詣（くらまはつとらまいり）
visit to Kurama Temple on the first day of the tiger
"Kurama Gold Coin", Kurama koban 鞍馬小判（くらまこばん）
. . . . . and more kigo about this ceremony

The Tiger hour is about 3-5am. Tiger Month is January and the Tiger day comes up every 12 days.


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Things found on the way



Kurama stone Daruma

. Kurama Ishi 鞍馬石 Kurama Stone 　


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Ushiwakamaru 牛若丸

. Ushiwaka mochi 牛若餅 Ushiwaka rice cakes 　
Named after Minamoto no Yoshitsune in his boyhood (Ushiwaka, the one as strong as a bull), when he was trained at the Kurama Mountain Temple by the Forest Goblins (tengu).


. Minamoto no Yoshitsune 源の義経 (1159 - 1189) .
- Introduction -
Shanaoo, Shanaō 遮那王　Shanao (his boyhood name at Kurama)
牛若丸　Ushiwakamaru // Hoogan 判官 Hogan (his court title)


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Goma sen, gomasen 護摩扇 ritual fan from Kurama

. ha-uchiwa 天狗の羽団扇 "feather fan of a Tengu" .

This is the fan of the great tengu from Kurama mountain, used to ward off all evil during the goma fire rituals.

quote
Sōjōbō - Sojobo
Sōjōbō (僧正坊, lit. "high Buddhist priest")
is the mythical king of the tengu, minor deities who inhabit the mountains of forests of Japan. Sōjōbō is an ancient yamabushi (mountain hermit) tengu with long, white hair and an unnaturally long nose. He carries a fan made from seven feathers as a sign of his position at the top of tengu society. He is extremely powerful, and one legend says he has the strength of 1,000 normal tengu. Sōjōbō lives on Mount Kurama (north of Kyoto).

Sōjōbō is perhaps best known for teaching the warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune (then known by his childhood name Ushiwaka-maru or Shanao) the arts of swordsmanship, tactics, and magic in the 12th century. In fact, the name "Sōjōbō" originates from Sōjōgatani, the valley at Mount Kurama near Kibune Shrine associated with the Shugenja. It is in this valley that Ushiwaka trained with Sōjōbō in legend. This relationship serves as the basis of many Japanese woodblock prints, including one by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.
Also in some Japanese villages, parents spread the myth that he eats little boys to stop them going into the forests at night.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



a kind of fly swatter : Tengu no uchiwa
. Swatter of a Forest Goblin
Tengu no uchiwa　天狗のうちわ .

. Fan (oogi 扇　- uchiwa　団扇）.


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　



source : hayato on facebook

"Tengu Monsters and Ushiwakamaru"
c. 1760, by Shunsho Katsukawa (1726-1792).


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HAIKU




月ぞしるべこなたへ入せ旅の宿
tsuki zo shirube konata e irase tabi no yado

moon! guide
this-way to please-enter
journey's lodging

Matsuo Basho, 1663

Basho alludes to a line from the No play Tengu on Mount Kurama, in which the blossoms are the guides.

Tr. David Landis Barnhill


奥は鞍馬の山道の花ぞしるべなる へ入らせ給へや

oku wa Kurama no yamamichi no
hana zo shirube naru konata e irase tamae ya


Kurama no Tengu 鞍馬天狗 Noh Performance


tsuki zo shirube konata e irase tabi no yado


the moon will guide you . . .
this way, traveler; please come
into the inn here
Tr. Ueda


The moon is your guide;
Come to my house, says the host
Of a wayside inn.
Tr. Yuasa

Written in 寛文4年, Basho age 21
During that time the Teimon school was in full swing and it was popular to make an allusion to poems and songs of old.

. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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道標は蝸牛遊ばせ右鞍馬
doohyoo wa kagyuu asobase migi Kurama

the guidepost
is a resting post for the snail -
turn right for Mount Kurama

Minamisawa Kiriko 南澤霧子


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Related words

***** . Bishamonten 毘沙門天 　


***** . Ushiwaka-maru and Benkei 　

***** . Kurama gannin 鞍馬願人 Gannin from Kurama .
gannin boozu 願人坊主 mendicant monks



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Kurama karakuri gangu　鞍馬のからくり玩具 mechanical dolls from Kurama
They are about 30 to 40 cm high. The deities of Wind and Thunder 風神雷神. Made from bamboo with a string to pull for moving the fan and arms.

. Kyoto Folk Art - 京都（府） .
Kuramadera no koi ningyoo 鞍馬寺 鯉の人形 Kurama carp dolls
Kurama yama no a-un-tora 鞍馬山のあうん虎 tiger dolls
Kurama kubi ningyoo くらま首人形 head dolls


. karakuri ningyoo からくり人形 mechanical dolls .

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Mino Drum Festival

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Mino Festival (Mino matsuri)

***** Location: Gifu, Japan
***** Season: Late Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Mino matsuri 美濃祭 (みのまつり) Mino festival

On April 14 and 15. Mino town, Gifu prefecture
八幡神社 岐阜県美濃. 美濃祭り




Town festival of the 'Hachiman' Shrine of Mino.
On the first day, over 30 portable shrines are decorated as 'Hana-mikoshi 花みこし' (flower-palanquins); more than 200 branches of attached flowers for 'hana-mikoshi' are made of 'washi' (Japanese paper) dyed a cherry colour and carried to the central shrine of the town by a joyful procession of young men gathered from several districts.

A parade of six gorgeous 'Yama 山車' (wheeled floats) with open-air stand of wind-up dolls takes place on the following day. 'Niwaka　流しにわか' (street comedy with teams of amateur comedians) entertains audience the evening of both days.
The floats date back to the Edo period, some have mechanical dolls on them 'karakuri ningyo からくり人形".
source : www.infomapjapan.com


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


. Washi paper from Mino


. WASHOKU - regional dishes from Mino and Gifu 　


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HAIKU




朧夜の町かどに聞く美濃仁輪加
oboro ya no machikado ni kiku Mino niwaka

on a hazy spring night
in all corners of Mino you hear
the festival songs

. Inahata Teiko　稲畑汀子



hazy spring night
every corner of Mino
floats the comedy skit
Tr. Makiko


. Discussing NIWAKA .
Translating Haiku Forum


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Seimei and Kanshoku Okinawa

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Seimei festival (seimeisai)

***** Location: Okinawa, Japan
***** Season: Mid-Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

seimeisai 清明祭 (せいめいさい) Seimei festival
..... seimei mairi 清明参（せいめいまいり) "visiting graves at Seimei"
ushiimii （ウシーミー）, shiimii



This is a celebration in Okainawa, on the beginning of the period

Seimei (清明): Start on April 5 — Clear and bright
It used to be in the third lunar month.

The relatives gather in front of the graves, say prayers and then have a feast, including traditional dishes and the loved "awamori" liquor. After the feast it is time for shamisen music and dance.
The relatives have two weeks to perform the rituals. Sometimes the bones are taken out of the graves and washed.
Washing the bones is a custom of China, see below.

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observance kigo for mid-spring

kanshoku 寒食 (かんしょく) "cold food"
kanshoku setsu 寒食節（かんしょくせつ）
ritual of eating cold food

hyakugo setsu 百五節（ひゃくごせつ）
ritual on day 105 (after the winter solstice)

reien setsu 冷烟節（れいえんせつ）"cold smoke" ritual

anzu no kayu 杏の粥 apricot rice gruel
momobana kayu 桃花粥 peach blossom rice gruel
yookagayu 楊花粥 willow blossom rice gruel

kinka 禁火 no fire

jukushoku setsu 熟食節 ritual of hot food

. . . . .


寒食や饐になれたるひとり住み
kanshoku ya su ni naretaru hitori sumi

cold food -
I live alone and am used
to things tasting sour

Kuroyanagi Shooha 黒柳召波


. . . . .


寒食や竃をめぐるあぶら虫
kanshoku ya kamado o meguru aburamushi

cold food -
cockroaches search
around the hearth

Tan Taigi 炭太祇


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The six seasonal segments of spring
asian lunar calendar

Risshun (立春): February 4—Beginning of spring
Usui (雨水): February 19—Rain water
Keichitsu (啓蟄): March 5—awakening of hibernated (insects)
Shunbun (春分): March 20—Vernal equinox, middle of spring
Seimei (清明): April 5—Clear and bright
Kokuu (穀雨): April 20—Grain rain


. WKD : The 24 solar sections 　　


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Things found on the way


cold food (hiyashi mono) eaten after a banquet

Matsuo Basho
'At Kyokusui's House' 曲水亭
A party of 5, with Basho, Kyokusui, Kagami Shikoo 各務支考, Hirose Izen Sogyuu 広瀬維然（素牛） and Gakoo 臥高 from Iga.
The cold food was often sooomen そうめん　素麺　thin noodles and fruit.


夏の夜や崩て明し冷し物
natsu no yo ya kuzurete akeshi hiyashi mono

summer night--
at dawn, scattered leftovers
of chilled food
Tr. Barnhill

An excerpt from Barnhill's comment:
"Cool food such as melon and eggplant was served at the conclusion of a banquet."


summer night
broken up at dawn
chilled food
Tr. Reichhold

Reichhold's comment:
"This verse was Basho's greeting and beginning link for a renga done with Kyokusui, Gakoo, Izen, and Shikioo at the home of Kyokusui in Zeze. It is thought to be funny that Basho begins a renga with a verse that describes the end of a party. The word 'broken' ['kuzurete'] refers to the night [because of the dawn], the food [leftovers], and the party."]


MORE - hokku about food by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


. hiya soomen 冷索麺 cold Somen noodles .

. Hiyashi Chuuka　冷やし中華 cold Chinese noodles .

cold tofu
. hiyayakko, hiya yakko 冷奴 "cold guy" .


. WASHOKU - Japanese Food Culture .


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HAIKU


what was my face
before my forefathers were born?
Seimei Festival

Note:
Ls 1&2 allude to the Zen Buddhist concept of the original face.

. WKD : Koan and Haiku 　




Seimei Festival
rain on the grave site I visit
for the first time

faintly alluding to Ching-ming (or Qing-Ming, 清明 Seimei), a poem by the famous Late Tang poet, Du Mu 杜牧.
The festival originated from the Day with Cold Food, a memorial day for Jie Zhitui (介子推 Kai Shisui), who died in 636 BC in the Spring and Autumn Period.

Chen-Ou Liu
Canada

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quote
The 1st day of the 5th solar term is the Qingming.
Qingming Festival is the 15th day after the Spring Equinox occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar.

The Qingming Festival is commonly translated as the Clear Bright Festival or the Tomb Sweeping Day.

During the Spring and Autumn Period (Chinese: 春秋战国时期), the Duke Wen of Jin (Chinese: 晋文公) created the Hanshi Cold Food Festival (Chinese: 寒食节) to commemorate the loyalty of his friend and servant Jie Zhitui (Chinese: 介之推).

On Hanshi Festival, the day before the solar term Qingming (Chinese: 清明), people were not allowed to use fires to cook or heat up food (eat cold food only), and hang willow branches on doors to show respect to Jie Zhitui, because he was killed with his mother by a fire next to a willow tree. The fire was actually set up by Duke Wen hoping to force Jie Zhitui to come out of his hiding place in the mountains.

The Qingming Festival itself was created by the Tang Emperor Xuanzong in 732. It is said that because the wealthy held too many expensive, elaborate ancestor-worshipping ceremonies, in a needed effort to lower this expense, Emperor Xuanzong declared that respects could be formally paid at ancestor's graves only on Qingming.

Gradually, people combined traditions of the Hanshi Festival into the Qingming Festival and kept as a one-day festival.



Qingming Poem by Du Mu



A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day;
The mourner's heart is breaking on his way.
Where can a hostel be found to drown his sadness?
A cowherd points to Xing Hua village in the distance.

source : chinese/festivals



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Related words

***** . WKD : The Season of Spring 　


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Suwa and Misayama

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. 諏訪神社 Suwa Shrines and their Legends .
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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

南方刀美神社 Minakatatominokami no yashiro

- - - Enshrined deities:
Tateminakata no Mikoto 建御名方命
Yasakatome no Mikoto 八坂刀売命

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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 !

The origin of this festival goes back to ancient times.
In the forest region of Suwa lived the Jomon people, off the woods with wild animals and plants gathered for food, praying to a deity of hunting and gathering.
Then came the Yayoi folks from the continent, bringing the rice cultivation and field management and a deity of agriculture.
The two clashed at Suwa but then the stronger Yayoi appeased the deity of the Jomon and venerated it in the pillars around their shrines.

- quote -
- snip -
Suwa shrines across Nagano Prefecture hold the "Pillar-raising festival" known as the Onbashira Matsuri in years of the Monkey and of the Tiger (i.e. every six years), in which shrines ceremonially raise four pillars (some shrines only erect one). Suwa Taisha is the first to raise the pillars, after which other Suwa shrines raise theirs. There are various explanations as to the symbolism or purpose of the four columns. Some suggest they were "vehicles" (yorishiro) for the kami to inhabit, others that they marked off the four corners of a sacred area. Still others explain them as substitutes for periodic shrine renewal ritual or as magical implements of the kami. There are many rituals at Suwa Taisha, and seven out of ten scrolls of the Suwa Daimyōjin ekotoba are devoted to ceremonies. ...
- source : Nogami Takahiro kokugakuin 2007 -


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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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Shakuji Jinja 社宮司神社　しゃくじじんじゃ（
Oshamoji sama おしゃもじさま）



"Mishakuji-sama" みしゃくじさま,
Mishaguji sama ミシャグジさま , ミシャグジ神
is the name for the local female deity of the Suwa lake and Mount Moriya　守屋山.
She is resident in the Suwa Maemiya Shrine　諏訪前宮神社. It is an ancient cult of Mother Earth.
She is probably an old form of a snake worshipped and shows herself as a white snake.
Or identical with 建御名方神 or 洩矢神（モレヤ神）.
This deity is also known in other regions where matagi hunters roam the forests.

Mishaguji sha ミシャグジ社 / 御社宮司社　Shrine for Mishaguji sama

Cosmogonical Worldview of Jomon Pottery :
The Mishakuji Cult of Suwa
source : books.google.co.jp


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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. (Some say it was the messenger, kitsune 狐 a fox).
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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kamiyu　神湯 "hot water of the deity", hot spring



with public bath, Kamiyu (open) and Shimoyu (half closed)

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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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. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .

misayama ya mite mo suzushiki susuki-bashi

Misayama Mountain --
I feel cooler just seeing
chopsticks of green reed
Tr. Chris Drake

This hokku is from the 7th month (August) of 1821.
Issa went to the large Suwa Shinto Shrine to see the Misayama Festival, held from 7/26 to 7/30, which was accompanied by sumo contests and many other events. On 7/27 (August 24th in 1821) priests and a group of believers go up the low mountain and build a hut walled and thatched with miscanthus, a kind of reed growing to 5-7 feet high, with striking tufts on the top. There they commune with the gods of the shrine and pray.

Meanwhile the Misayama Shrine at the foot of the mountain distributes special chopsticks from the still green stalks of miscanthus reeds to believers, who then eat special rice with the chopsticks. People later take these reed chopsticks home and put them beside bowls of rice that they place in small shrines in their homes to the Suwa Shrine gods, who are believed to bring good harvests. Issa has received a pair of these chopsticks, and even before he eats with them and thereby symbolically shares his rice with the gods, the sight of the green stalks used as chopsticks makes him feel cooler on this probably hot early autumn day.

A little more than a year later a breeze blowing from Lake Suwa, about 80 miles from his hometown, causes Issa to write:

suzushisa wa kami-yo no sama yo susuki-bashi

this coolness
from the age of the gods --
chopsticks of green reed


The breeze seems to remind Issa of his experience at the Suwa Shrine, and the timeless time of the gods descends on him again for a few moments, cooling and refreshing him.

Basho also has a hokku about the Misayama Festival reed-thatched prayer hut in the first part of the Sarumino anthology. It evokes early winter:

yuki chiru ya hoya no susuki no kari-nokoshi

scattering snowflakes --
tufted reeds left uncut
for the thatched prayer hut

This hokku suggests loneliness because being cut to serve as part of a wall or the roof in the reed hut -- called the Tufted Hut -- into which gods descend on Misayama Mountain during the Misayama Festival was considered a great honor. The stalks that remain are therefore those that have been passed over and were unable to take part. Now, left behind, the dry, tufted reeds stand amid a snow flurry, accentuating with their astringent straightness the swirling of the flakes.

Some dictionaries give "Japanese pampas grass" for susuki reeds, but strictly speaking they are miscanthus reeds (Miscanthus sinensis). A look at Wiki photos will show that miscanthus is slightly slimmer than pampas grass and its tufts more like soft tassels than the long plumes of the pampas grass, with can suggest spearheads.




Here is a photo of chopsticks made from miscanthus reeds.
The stalks are still green, but in late autumn they turn completely light brown.

Chris Drake


Shrines visited by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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さをしかや社壇に角を奉る
saoshika ya shadan ni tsuno o tatematsuru

a stag offers
his old antlers
to a Shinto shrine
Tr. Chris Drake


This hokku was written in the 4th month (May) of 1824.
Issa's diary says he visited the local Suwa Shinto shrine on 4/15, so the hokku may be based on what he saw there. The Sino-Japanese word shadan (社壇) means a sacred building at a Shinto shrine, so the stag in the hokku seems to have shed his old antlers right in front of a hall of worship at a rural shrine near some woods inhabited by deer. Some Shinto shrines, including the Kashima Shrine, visited by Issa several years earlier, have sacred deer living on their precincts, but the shrine in this hokku seems to be an ordinary Shinto shrine. I take the image to be of a set of antlers left earlier near the steps or entrance to the shrine main building dedicated to the shrine's god or gods, since it seems unlikely the stag is shedding his antlers in front of many people. Deer hunting was widespread in mountainous Shinano, where Issa is living, so the stag would be putting himself in danger if he appeared in broad daylight in an area visited by many humans, even if hunters couldn't hunt within the precincts of the shrine. Issa obviously feels that the stag had some sort of awareness that the shrine was a sacred place and that his placement of his antlers is the result of that awareness, whatever the exact nature of that awareness is.

Although Issa attributes certain feelings to the stag, this hokku doesn't seem to be based on strong personification. It simply points to the location of the antlers as a sign that the stag instinctively wanted to offer something that once had great importance in a place that seemed peaceful and spiritual. In Shinto many gods are depicted as riding on stags or using stags as their assistants, so the fallen antlers would probably be treated with great respect and care by the shrine priests.

Chris Drake


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source :　rakanneko.jp/buson


名月やうさぎのわたる諏訪の海
meigetsu ya usagi no wataru Suwa no umi

In harvest moonlight--
rabbits seem to be running
over the lake of Suwa.
Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert


. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

In former times, on a moonlit night, when the lake showed white waves, this was called "a rabbit is running" 兎が走る.


. WKD : The Hare (Rabbit) in the Moon .
pounding rice cakes


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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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Suwa Jinja, Nishi-Nippori, Tokyo

This shrine was built in the Kamakura period.
From its hill there is a good view to Mount Fujisan.


Kasamatsu Shirō 笠松紫浪　(1898-1991)


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. 諏訪神社 Suwa Shrines and their Legends .

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Domyoji Temple

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Doomyooji 道明寺 Temple Domyo-Ji, Domyoji

***** Location: Osaka, Japan
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Domyoji Tenmangu 道明寺天満宮
藤井寺市 Fujidera Town, Osaka



quote
Domyoji Tenmangu Shrine originates in Haji Shrine that Haji Tribe built in 3 A.D. to enshrine their ancestor Amenohohi no mikoto (the son of Amaterasu Omikami, the goddess of the sun).

After Buddhism was introduce into Japan, Prince Shotoku decided to build a magnificent temple composed of the five-story stupa and seven halls on the land with an area of 320 m east and west and 640 m north and south, which Haji Yashima donated. The temple was named Haji Temple （Hajidera 土師寺)　and later it was assumed the new name of Domyoji by
Sugawara no Michizane (enshrined as a deity of learning).

The shrine possesses a lot of treasures including 6 National treasures, 2 Important National Properties, and 1 Prefectural Cultural Property. The halls were burnt down in the battles to capture Takaya Castle during the Warring States period, however the treasures were unaffected.

Later the temple was given sanctuary to by Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and the Tokugawa Shogunate and designated as a vermilion-seal certificate land. Now people visit to pray for academic achievement, safe delivery, safe driving and so on.
In 2002, “The 1100th Year Anniversary Festival” in memory of Sugawara no Michizane was held.
Doumyouji, Fujiidera City, Osaka Prefecture
source : nippon-kichi.jp


. WKD : Sugawara Michizane　菅原道真


. Hajibe 土師部(はじべ) / 土部 Haji-Be clan .
and Haniwa 埴輪 clay figures

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kigo for mid-spring

Doomyooji matsuri 道明寺祭 (どうみょうじまつり)
Domyoji Temple Festival




Doomyooji hoshi ii 道明寺糒（どうみょうじほしいい）
dried cooked rice from temple Domyoji

March 25, the memorial day of Sugawara Tenjin, is celebrated.
The Heart Sutra (Hanya Shingyo) is read many times and visitors from far and wide recite with the priests.
The Haji Clan 土師　used to have a nunnery here, later taken over by the Shingon school of Buddhism.　

On the festival day, there is also a memorial service in thankfulness of the rapeseed oil (used for lamps) :
natane kuyoo 菜種供養

The grandmother of Michizane, Kakuju-ni 覚寿尼, lived in this nunnary, and when he was put in exile in Kyushu, she put a plate of rice in the direction and said prayers for his wellbeing every day. After the ritual the rice was then eaten by the nuns who all were in good health. Thus the rumor of the miraculous qualities of the rice spread.
Later the mochigome rice was watered for two days, then simmered and dried for 10 days and after that dried for 20 days near the fireplace. Then it was ground in a stone grinder and the powder is the "Domyoji flour" used for making mochi to our day.

The mochi flour and all kinds of mochi rice dumplings is sold very well during the festival.


Doomyooji hoshi ii 道明寺糒（どうみょうじほしいい）
cooked dried rice from temple Domyo-Ji

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kigo for late summer

. Hoshi-ii (hoshiii, hoshii) 干飯 (ほしいい)
cooked dried rice 　
..... 糒（ほしいい）乾飯（ほしいい）
hiki-ii 引飯（ひきいい）"ground rice"
kare ii かれいい、karei かれい、hoshi-i ほしい

doomyooji 道明寺（どうみょうじ)
(cold rice from) "Temple Domyo-Ji"
Here the name of the temple is used as a name for the food offering.


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

. WASHOKU
domyojiko, doomyoojiko どうみょうじこ (道明寺粉) 　
dried and granulated glutinous rice flour
for kashiwamochi, sakuramochi

Sakuramochi
Japanese confectionery consisting of a sweet pink mochi (rice cake) and red bean paste, covered with a leaf of sakura (cherry tree).
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Osaka Tenmangu 大阪天満宮



Tenjin san no Uso 天神さんのうそ the bullfinch of Tenjin
On the 15th of January is the festival.
The figures came on a thick paper with the inscription
心づくしの神さんがうそを真にかえさんす、
ホンニまことにかえさんす、
ホンニうそ替えおおうれし
There were also three boxes, from Gold, Silver or Wood.

. usokae うそ替え exchanging bullfinches .
ritual at Tenman-Gu shrines


Tenjinbata 天神旗（花） Tenjin Flag
It's original name was Tenjinbana 天神花 Tenjin Flower
It was distributed on the main festival in summer, on July 25.


source : asahi-net.or.jp

天満宮の扇子 folding fan of Tenmangu
寝牛 bull lying down, from wood

. Osaka Folk Art - 大阪府　大阪市 .



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HAIKU


水向けて跡訪ひたまえ道明寺
mizu mukete ato toi tamae doomyooji

Domyoji stands in front of your mother's altar.
Offer water both sacred and secular
and console her spirit.
source :　Sasaki Sanmi, Chado

water offerings
to console her spirit
with Domyoji rice
Tr. Gabi Greve


Written in memory of the Mother of his disciple Fuboku 一柳軒不卜
Written in 延宝6年, Basho age 35.
Here it is not the name of the temple, but the name of the cold rice food (hoshi-ii) prepared there.
Ofter offering on the family altar, the cold water is used to prepare some Domyoji rice. May it cool off the soul on this hot summer day.



offering water
may the deceased be consoled
with dried boiled rice
Tr. Reichhold

MORE hokku about food by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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Two haiku collected by Yamamoto Nori Store in 2009,
about sakuramochi
source : www.yamamoto-noriten.co.jp



sakuramochi, "Cherryblossom rice dumplings"
sakura dumplings


桜餅ぶつぶつありし道明寺
sakuramochi butsubutsu arishi Doomyooji

the sakura dumplings
are quite bumpy -
temple Domyo-Ji



道明寺糒の紅や桜餅
Doomyooji hoshii no beni ya sakuramochi

the pink of dried rice
from temple Domyo-Ji -
sakura dumplings



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Related words

***** . Sugawara Michizane　菅原道真　and Tenman-Gu　天満宮　shrines


BACK : Top of this Saijiki

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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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Aso Shrine Festivals Kumamoto

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Fire-swinging festival (hiburi matsuri)

***** Location: Kumamoto, Japan
***** Season: Mid-spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation


Click on all thumbnails for many more photos !


hiburi matsuri 火振り祭 (ひぶりまつり)
"fire-swinging festival"

March 16

This festival revolves around the Shinto shrine dedicated to Mount Aso in Kumamoto, where festivals with prayers for a good harvest are held every season.

Aso jinja 阿蘇神社 Aso Shrine
Ichinomiya village
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

quote
Aso-no-Ōkami 阿蘇大神, the kami or spirit who dwells at Aso Shrine has been worshipped from early times as the guardian deity of safety in navigation, and today, Aso-no-Ōkami is popular as a god protecting worshippers from traffic accidents and other untoward events.

Yabusame is an annual festival which brings together horse-mounted archers, special arrows and targets, and Shinto ritual at Aso Shrine.

The Aso no Himatsuri festival has its origin in the month of March festivals such as
Aso no Noyaki (the first burning in Aso) and
Aso jinja no Hifuri shinji (the fire ritual of Aso Shrine).

Although rarely performed today, ceremonies which honor ancestors who settled near the Aso caldera do continue to be associated with the Aso jinja.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


阿蘇神社の火振り神事

hiburi shinji 火ぶりしんじ Shinto torch ritual
hifuri shinji. Aso Fire Festival

Large ropes of about one meter length are made from kaya reedgrass, which are then bound to hemp ropes of two meters lenght. The reed grass is then set on fire and the rope wrung in a large circle around its holder, forming a circle of fire. With so many people participating in this ritual, the shrine looks like on fire itself or like a huge fireworks celebration.




The origin of this ritual goes back to welcoming the god of the fields back in spring, to greet his wife (goze mukae 御前迎え(ごぜむかえ) .


. Ta no Kami 田の神さま God of the Rice Fields 　




source : www.asoict.jp/bokin/


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. WKD : Mount Aso in Kyushu 阿蘇山 　
Read this entry for more information about this huge volcano mountain.

including

Aso matsuri 阿蘇祭 (あそまつり) Aso festival
gotaue matsuri, go taue matsuri ごたうえまつり . 田植え祭り
rice-planting festival
Aso no Onda Matsuri 阿蘇の御田祭

observance kigo for late summer
July 28 and 29



quote
The onda matsuri for Aso Jinja in Ichinomiya Town, Aso County, Kumamoto Prefecture, occurs on July 28 and 29. As the otaue matsuri and the shinkō have been merged, the correct name for this festival is otaue shinkō shiki.

On the day of the festival, a procession of nearly one hundred attendants, beginning with a person wearing a mask of the kami, Sarutahiko, followed by saotome, fourteen unari (young women) carrying rice chests, lion dancers (shishi), dengaku, field laborers, oxen, and four sacred palanquins (shin'yo), proceeds to the first temporary shrine (ichi no angū ) and ceremonially present offerings of food (kensen) and norito.

Then a ritual rice planting occurs and the procession moves to the second temporary shrine (ni no angū). In the evening, the procession returns to the main shrine (kangyo) where all of the shrines are ceremonially visited (miya mawari shiki), and another ritualized rice-planting is held in the shrine grounds (keidai).
source : Kokugakuin University.


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at Shimo Jinja 　霜神社　 "Frost Shrine" :

. 霜宮火焚（ひたき）神事 Shimomiya hitaki gyooji 　
making fire to keep the deities warm
from August 13 till October 29



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Aso Shrine, Fukuoka
Haki Hosaka, Asakura-shi, Fukuoka
泥打祭り（福岡県・杷木町）


Doro-uchi matsuri 泥打祭 どろうちまつり mud-throwing festival

observance kigo for mid-spring

March 28



quote
The Mud Throwing Festival is a unique festival held at Aso Shrine on March 28 of every year. People throw mud at a priest who acts as the god of rice fields in an attempt to foretell whether they will have a bountiful or lean harvest.

On the day of the festival, the priest (who is selected annually by lottery) changes into pure white shrine ritual robes and sits in a sacred area of the shrine grounds. After that, 12 children (parishioners) accompanying him simultaneously douse the priest in mud, and as he makes his way towards the traveler’s deity statue about 500 meters (1,640 feet) away, people grab mud that is prepared along the route and throw it at him.
It is said that the more mud sticks to his body, the more bountiful the year’s harvest will be!
source : www.crossroadfukuoka.jp


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Things found on the way

April 15, 2016 - Kumamoto Earthquake　熊本大地震



Asojinja shrine: 2 billion yen needed to repair quake damage
Kumamoto Prefecture--Asojinja shrine here said it will need 10 years and 2 billion yen ($18.65 million) to restore buildings and facilities, including culturally important properties, that were damaged or destroyed in the recent earthquakes.

The shrine will set up a support group and collect donations for the reconstruction project.
According to shrine officials, the “romon” two-storied gate, a government-designated important cultural property, was destroyed in the magnitude-7.3 earthquake on April 16.

The shrine’s three main halls, as well as the Miyukimon and Kangyomon gates, all of which are also listed as important cultural properties, were severely damaged.

“The romon, the symbol of the shrine, collapsed, and other facilities in the precincts were also damaged, but we will work hard to prevent the traditional Shinto ceremonies that we have preserved from being terminated,” said Harutaka Aso, 63, chief priest of Asojinja. ...
- source : Asahi Shinbun May 15 2016 -


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HAIKU


swinging fire -
grandmother holds hands
with the new bride

Nakayama Ishino 中山石野, 2005


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Related words

***** . Fire Festivals of Japan 　


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