1/15/2007

Naked Festivals Japan

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Naked Festivals (hadaka matsuri 裸祭り)

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


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Explanation

Naked Festival, Naked Man Festival, Naked Men Festival ...
they come in many variations here in Japan.
Fertility was (and still is) the most important aspect of human life, and the many festivals relating the the phallus and fertility symbols are just one expression of its importance.

. Fertility - the Emperor plants rice .


Some festivals are also listed among the "fire festivals" (hi matsuri), see LINK below.
Others are a kind of "tug of war" ( tsunabiki 大綱引き) of long ropes or "mud throwing and mud wrestling".

quote
For most of us, a chilly January morning conjures up images of snuggling under blankets in flannel pajamas, sipping hot chocolate by a cozy fire, or schussing down the slopes in snug Gore-Tex jumpsuits and puffy goose-down parkas. But for a large number of questionably sane individuals in Japan, it seems that getting naked in public with a few hundred of their closest friends is the only way to spend the day.

Read more here:
© Getting Naked...In Japan...In January
by Celeste Heiter

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CLICK for more ENGLISH links CLICK for more PHOTOS !


Naked festivals (hadaka matsuri 裸祭り)
are quite popular and have a long tradition in Japan.
Most of them are kigo for spring or the new year season.

For a sample of more photos from these festivals :
CLICK HERE !!!



amazon.com: Naked Festival: A Photo-Essay
by Tamotsu Yato (Author)
Yukio Mishima (Introduction)




The "naked" men wear different types of loincloths or straw skirts to cover them, some even start off completely naked.
Take a look !

PHOTOS : koshimino 腰蓑

PHOTOS : rokushaku 六尺

PHOTOS : sarashi ittan 晒一反(さらしいったん)

PHOTOS : shimekomi 締め込み

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Japans Sexual Gods:
Shrines, Roles and Rituals of Procreation and Protection

Stephen Turnbull



- quote June 2015 -
Japan's Sexual Gods is an exciting original work about the deities represented by phalluses and female sexual objects in Japanese shrines. Their roles in procreation and protection, their rituals and festivals are described in detail along with unique location photographs.
source : books.google.co.jp


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In alphabetical order of the Japanese place names or festivals.


Akabira Fire Festival, Akabira himatsuri
あかびら火まつり, 赤平火祭り

Akabira town 赤平市, Hokkaido
Third weekend in July
Photos



Aoshima Shrine Festival, Hadaka mairi
青島神社はだか参り

Miyazaki Town - Naked Shrine Visit
January 15
Takes place during the daytime on the beach, facing wave-shaped rocks called "Ogre's Washboard".
Local people and worshippers of the shrine dip into the sea to pray for safety and a good harvest in the coming year.
. Aoshima Jinja 青島神社 Aoshima Shrine .



Arai Shrine Naked Festival, Arai Jinja Hadaka Matsuri
荒井神社
January 7



Ariuji Shrine Naked Festival 有氏裸祭り
Ariuji Shrine 有氏(ありうじ)神社, Kamiizumi-mura, Kodama-gun, Saitama prefecture
November 19 有氏神社
Photos
In the late morning, ten men in loincloth throw "red festival rice" (sekihan) at the crowds that gather at the shrine's compound. From olden times, they say that those who bring this rice back home will be immune to all diseases.



Ashibetsu Summer Health Festival,
Ashibetsu Kenka Yamakasa 芦別健夏山笠
Hokkaido, Ashibetsu town 芦別市
Third weekend of July
Photos
Dance of 1000 people, "Yosakoi" dancing, and carrying of a huge float thruogh the town. Some large rice sacks represent the deities of the festival.

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Bandai Naked Festival, Bandai Gyooji 盤台行事
at shrine Ariuji Jinja 有氏神社. 児玉郡神川町下阿久原, Saitama prefecture
November 19
Photos


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Chichibu Sweet Ricewine Festival,
Amazake Matsuri
甘酒まつり

Chichibu Town 秩父市
July 25
Photos
sweet sake, sweet rice wine



Choshoji no Aragyoo 長勝寺の荒行
Religious austerities practiced by Buddhist monks at the temple Chosho-Ji
Kamakura, 鎌倉、長勝寺(ちょうしょうじ chooshoo ji)
February 11
CLICK for more photos About thirty young monks, wearing white loincloth, who have been training at another temple in the mountains of Kanagawa for the past four months, splash cold water over themselves at a special place for this ritual, the "water purification place, "Suigyo-jo 水行所 " . First they recite the sutras. This is a very important ceremony of the Nichiren sect.


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Donto Festival, Dontozai どんと祭 どんとさい
Osaki Hachiman Shrine, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture
January 14
Burning of the New Year's decorations with a prayer for good health in the coming year. Naked men walk around the town.
Photos

LOOK !
source : www.youtube.com

Donto fire festivals are held in all shrines of Miyagi on this day, but the one of Osaki Hachimangu Shrine is the biggest.
Thousands of residents wrap white hairbands and white cloths around them, hold rice paper inside their mouthes, and carry bells and lanterns, walking on the streets barely clothed. In 2005 (17th year of Heisei), the Donto Festival was appointed as an invaluable folk/ cultural asset of Sendai.
The brightly burning sacred flame as well as the courage of the scantily dressed participants both defeat the cold weather and give this ceremony a sacred air.
source : sendai-hirose.html

大崎八幡宮 Ōsaki Hachimangū
4 Chome-6-1 Hachiman, Aoba Ward, Sendai, Miyagi

- quote -
Osaki Hachiman :
Architecture, Materiality, and Samurai Power in Seventeenth-Century Japan
Author: Schweizer, Anton



Ôsaki Hachiman (1607), located in Sendai, Japan, is one of only a handful of surviving buildings from the Momoyama period (1568–1615). The shrine is a rare example of “lacquered architecture”—an architectural type characterized by a shiny, black coat made of refined tree sap and evocative of transitory splendor and cyclical renewal. The shrine’s sponsor, the warlord Date Masamune, was one of the last independent feudal lords of his time and remains famous for dispatching diplomatic missions to Mexico, Spain, and Rome. Although his ambitions to become a ruler of Northern Japan were frustrated, his shrine stands as a lasting testament to the political struggles he faced, his global aspirations, and the cultural cloak by which he sought to advance these objectives.
- source : www.artbooks.com -

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Donzuki Matsuri ... どんづき祭 "Body throwing festival"
Niigata, Japan, at the Shibata village shrine.



Doronko Matsuri, Mud Festival, muddy festival
どろんこまつり
Mimusubi Shrine, 皇産霊神社 (みむすび)Yotsukaido, Chiba Pref .
February 25
Photos !
Also called Warabi Hadaka Matsuri 「和良比はだか祭り」
With prayers for a good harvest and the good health of children.
In the afternoon, people smear mud on each others faces.



Dotsu Shrine Fire Festival, Dootsuuguu Kodomo Eyoo
道通宮子供会陽

Okita Shrine 沖田神社, Okayama Town, Okayama prefecture
Late in February
Photos
Children in red and white loincloth fight for the "sacred stick".



. Doyadoya festival どやどや祭り Doya Doya Matsuri .
Shitennoji Osaka 大阪 四天王寺
January 14


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Enoshima Tenno Sai 江ノ島天王祭
Enoshima, Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture
Middle of July
Photos
Mikoshi are carried in the sea.
WKD Library: Article by Ikeuchi Tai
Tenno-Sai and Ritual Space



Esa Sea Gull Festival, Esa Kamome Matsuri
江差かもめ島まつり
Eas Town, Hokkaido 江差町、六尺
First Sunday in July
Photos


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. Shrine Fukagawa Shinmei-Gu 深川神明宮 .
Fukagawa Shinmei-Gu - Big Shrine Festival
深川神明宮 例大祭

Fukagawa, Tokyo
Middle of August
Photos
Takes place once in three years, next in 2009. One of the Big Festivals in Tokyo.
Also called "Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri" .
Reference



Fukue Naked Festival, Fukue Hadaka Matsuri
Fukue Town 福江祭り ふくえまつり, Nagasaki prefecture
January 16



Fukuno Fire Fighting festival (福野火祭り)
Fukuno Town 福野町, Noto Peninsula
January 6
Men in loincloths hold long decorated bamboo poles into jets of water from fire hoses.



Furukawa Matsuri 古川祭(ふるかわまつり)
Kita-Wakamiya Grand Festival. Furukawa-cho, Yoshiki-gun, Gifu Pref.
April 19 and 29
A spring festival.
In the late evening of the 19th, a large drum (okoshidaiko) is carried through the town by barely dressed men, while eleven exquisitely decorated decorated festival floats, are displayed in the streets during daytime. Men in loincloth wrangle around the big drum.
. Furukawa no okoshi daiko
古川の起し太鼓 (ふるかわのおこしだいこ)
"wake-up drums from Furukawa"
 
飛騨古川起し太鼓 Hida Furukawa Okoshi Daiko
Hida Town 飛騨市


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. Hakata Gion Yamagasa Festival 博多祇園山笠 .
Hakata matsuri 博多祭(はかたまつり) Hakata festival

Hakata town, Fukuoka prefecture
July 15
The Hakata Gion Yamagasa festival is a religious ritual of Hakata's grand tutelary shrine, Kushida Shrine. It is concentrated on "Decoration Floats", Kazari Yamagasa, which are covered with beautiful Hakata dolls and set up in various places around the town. As opposed to the elegant and feminine Kazari Yamagasa, the masculine "Kaki Yamagasa" is carried around the city from the 10th. The climax of the festival is the Oiyama race that starts from early morning on the 15th.
Reference



Hamaori Festival, Hamaori sai 浜降り祭
"Down-to-the-beach festival"
Samukawa Shrine, Chigasaki, Kanagawa Pref.
July 20
Photos
40 portable shrines (mikoshi) are be carried by men dressed in loincloth into the sea at Nishi-hama,Chigasaki Beach. Afterwards at seven, a Shinto ceremony is conducted at the beach, while the carriers of the portable shrines shout "Dokkoi! Dokkoi!"
Since it starts at 5 in the morning, it is also called "Dawn Festival."



Hamatama Naked Festival 浜玉裸祭り
Hamatama village, 浜玉町 Saga prefecture
July 4


ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo

Hekokaki Festival へこかき祭り
Shrine 高良大社, Kurume Town, Saga prefecture
June 1 and 2
Hekokaki Hadaka Mairi へこかき裸参り, Kawatari sai 川渡祭
Photos
Photos from Wada San !
If yuo wear something red on the two days of the festival, it will bring good luck in the following year.
Men in red loincloth purify in water to honor the god of the shrine, the old name of it was "Shrine with a well of really delicious water" Umami Shimizu Mii Jinja 味水御井神社(うましみずみいじんじゃ).
HEKO means the red loincloth. In Kurume, the red loincloth is called "Akabeko".

Cold-water ablutions,
Competing endurance
to the cold.


かんごりや がまんづよさの きそいあい
kangori ya gaman zuyosa no kisoiai

Wada San, Photos, Festivals and Haiku


ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo



Hino no Hadaka Odori 日野の裸踊 Naked Dance in Hino



Hofu Tenmangu Half-Naked Festival, Hadakambo 裸坊祭
防府天満宮, Hofu Town, Yamaguchi prefecture
November 23
防府天満宮御神幸祭
Photos
In the evening, men in loincloth brave the cold and carry portable shrines (mikoshi) through the streets of the town to Tenmangu Shrine, dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, the demi-god of literature and scholarship.




Hokai-ji Kyoto
Naked Dance, Hadaka Odori 裸踊り
法界寺(京都市伏見区、越中)
January 14
In the evening, two groups of young men push and shove each other whilst chanting.




Horane Festival, Horane Matsuri 禿鯖 (ほらね祭り)
Bungo Takata town, Oita prefecture 豊後高田市
January 1
Photos !
also called
Wakamiya Hachiman Hadaka Matsuri
若宮八幡裸祭り



Horigome Naked Festival 堀米裸祭り
Shrine Tsushima Jinja 津島神社, Matsumoto Town, 松本市島立
Last day of July, first day of June
Photos
Young boys of the grammar school take part in this ritual in honor of the "Ox-headed Deity", Gozu Tenoo 牛頭天王. It is supposed to ward off disease in the coming year. The boys of the fifth and sixth grade shout "onyaasaa", the one's of the third and fourth grade carry flagpoles and the boys of the first and second grade shout "monyaasaa".


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Ichinobe Hadaka Matsuri 市辺裸まつり
Temple Hotokuji Yakushido, Shiga Pref.
January 8



Ichi no Miya Juunisha Hadaka Matsuri
十二社はだか祭り

Ichinomiya Village, 一之宮, Chiba prefecture
September 13
Photos




Itoigawa Naked Throwing, Hadaka Do-age
はだか胴上げ

糸魚川市. Fujisaki Kannon Hall 藤崎観音堂, Niigata prefecture
January 17
Photos
This goes back to the Edo period. Men of the year are thrown high into the temple hall. Onlookers shout "mekketaa!"



Iwakura Temple Ceremony Iwakura Eyo 岩倉寺会陽
Nishi Awakura Village, 西粟倉村 Okayama prefecture
Second Saturday in February
Young people fight for a ritual stick, shingi.
Photos of the Temple / Japanese reference


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Kagoshima Summer Festival, Kagoshim Natsu Matsuri
かごしま夏祭り, 鹿児島夏祭り

Kagoshim Town
Middle of July
Photos
Takes place near Shinto shrines called "June Lantern Festival" (rokugatsu doo 六月灯).
English Reference




Kanchu Suiyoku, midwinter bathing 寒中水浴
Teppozu Inari Shrine 鐵砲洲稲荷神社, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
January 12
Men wearing only loincloths pour purifying water over themselves.




Kanda Festival, Kanda Matsuri 神田祭
At Kanda Shrine, 神田神社 Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo
Middle of May
Reference
CLICK for more photos The big event is held every second year, next is 2009. 100 portable shrines gather for this festival and a procession of 300 people parades through the streets of Tokyo. One of the Big Festivals of Tokyo, retaining an atmosphere of Old Edo.





Kankosai, Festival of Welcoming the Gods 還幸祭
Saga Matsuri 嵯峨祭Shrine Nonomiya Jinja 野宮神社,
Atago Jinja 愛宕神社(京都市右京区) Atago shrine
Fourth Sunday in May
Photos
Reference
. The Atago shrines of Japan .



Katsuragake Shrine Naked Festival
葛懸神社 裸まつり
Shrine Katsuragake Jinja , Gifu prefecture
Second Saturday in December
Photos
A few hundred young men jump into the Nagara river to purify themselves. Three times, starting at three in the early morning, then at seven and at ten.
...................................................... also called:
Ike no Ue Cold Water Ablutions, Ikenoue Misogi Sai
池ノ上みそぎ祭

Photos
Ikenoue Purification Ceremony




Kikonai Cold Water Ablutions Ceremony,
Kikonai Kanchuu Misogi 寒中みそぎ祭り

Hokkaido 木古内町
January 13 till 15
. Samegawa (Samekawa) ablutions 佐女川神社 in Kikonai





Kinzanji Ceremony, Kinzanji Eyo 金山寺会陽
Temple Kinzanji, 岡山市金山 Okayama prefecture
First Saturday in February
"Naked Whirl", hadaka uzu 裸の渦
Photos
Young men in white loincloth fight for five lucky ritual sticks 副宝木.



 Kokuseki-Ji Naked Man Festival 黒石裸祭 Kuroishi Festival
Onigo Matsuri 鬼子祭り
February 11



Konomiya (Ko no Miya) Naked Festival国府宮はだか祭り
Shrine Konomiya, Inazawa Town, 稲沢市(国府宮町) Aichi prefecture
Inazawa Naked Festival 稲沢裸祭り

Inazawa Town 稲沢国府宮はだか祭り
Naoi no shinji 儺追の神事 (なおいのしんじ)
Naoi ritual for driving away evil
..... naoe matsuri 直会祭(なおえまつり) Naoe festival
..... naoi matsuri 儺追祭(なおいまつり) Naoi Festival
January 13




Kui Inari Shrine Hadaka Matsuri, O-Fuku Hiraki Sai
御福開祭はだか祭

Ceremony to open up your good luck !
Shrine Kui Inari Jinja, Mihara Town, 久井稲生神社, 三原市, Hiroshima prefecture
Third Saturday in February
Photos
Young men in loincloth fight for a ritual luck stick 御福木, sometimes more than one hour. Before the fight they jump into a river for purification and consume some sacred rice wine for extra strength.



Kurama Fire Festival, Kurama no hi matsuri
鞍馬の火祭

October 22



Kurihara Naked Barrel Shrine procession
Hadaka Taru Mikoshi 裸樽神輿, 樽みこし
栗原市
November 2 and 3
Photos
"Taru Mikoshi" is a portable shrine made of sake barrels. Many are carried by children.




Kyojoji Temple
and Shrine Hachimangu, Morioka, Iwate prefecture
Hadaka-mairi 裸参り, shrine visit paid by partly attired youths. They wear a straw skirt (koshi mino) around the hips. (koshimino 腰蓑 .. こしみの).
盛岡八幡宮(盛岡市
January 14, 15 and 26


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Mihama Naked Ceremony, Mihama Hadaka Matsuri
美浜 裸祭り, hadaka mairi
Mihama town, Aichi prefecture
December 31 toward January 1
美浜野間神社裸詣り. 上野間 Kaminoma Naked Festival
Photos
"Letting it all hang out in Mihama", they are really naked.
Young men who are turning twenty or 25 strip completely and run through town down to the beach; they plunge in the sea for purification before running back through the town, put on a loincloth and take part in the festival.




Mimasaka Hadaka Matsuri 美作裸祭り
Mimasaka Town, Okayama prefecture
Temple Anyo-Ji (Anyoo-Ji) 安養寺会陽
Second sunday in February



Mitsuke Tenjin Hadaka Matsuri
見付天神裸祭(みつけてんじんはだかまつり)

Mitsuke Tenjin Shrine, Iwata, Shizuoka prefecture
September 6 and 7
Photos
In the evening about 9, 400 young men in white loincloth proceed toward the shrine.
As soon as they arrive there, they dance the "devil's dance" (oni odori)
Later after midnight all lights are extinguished and the youths carrying a portable shrine (mikoshi) jostle each other while making their way toward Omi-no-Kunitama Shrine.
Mitsuke-tenjin Hadaka-matsuri: Reference


. Mitsuke Tenjin and Shrine Yanahime Jinja 矢奈比売神社 .


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. Nada Fighting Festival, Nada no Kenka Matsuri
灘のけんか祭り

Shrine Matsubara Hachiman Jinja 松原八幡神社, Himeji Town 姫路市, Hyogo prefecture
October 14/ 15



Nagasu Hadaka Mairi 長洲裸参り
Nagasu town, Kumamoto prefecture
January 15



Nakada Naked Festival 中田裸祭り
Toyoda Town, 豊田市, Aichi prefecture
Beginning of March
Photos



Nakatsu Naked Festival, Saisukui さいすくい
Nakatsu Town, 中津市, Oita prefecture
Late in November
Photos
Young men in white headbands and loincloth take a dip in the nearby river, try to catch little fish in a barrel and offer the fish to the gods.



Nanoka-Do Naked Festival,
Nanoka Doo Hadaka Mairi
七日堂裸詣り

Yanaizu Town 柳津町, Fukushima Pref
January 7
The small township of Yanaizu annually holds the Hadaka do mairi Festival.People from all over the prefecture gather at this small temple hall, dressed only in a white loincloth, to climb to the top of the sacred hall of Kokuzo Bosatsu. The statue of this deity is said to be the largest in Japan. They do in in defiance to the harsh cold of winter that blankets the area.
Photos !

. . . . . Naked Festival at Yanaizu



Niiza Town Naked Mikoshi 新座市 はだか神輿
Saitama prefecture, Owada Hikawa Shrine 大和田氷川神社
Last Friday in July, starting at seven in the evening
Photos
Young men wear white fundoshi and tabi socks. They carry the mikoshi along the old traveller's road of Kawagoe in a rather wild procession.



Nose Myoken-Do Naked Festival 能勢妙見堂
Suigyoo Kokuto-e, cold water ablutions  水行国祈会
Tokyo, Sumida-Ku, Temple Myokenzan Betsu-in 能勢妙見山別院
Feburary 2
Priests in white loincloth splash cold water over themselves while chanting sutras.


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Ohara Hadaka Matsuri 大原はだか祭り
Oohara, Ohara Kaigan Beach, Izumi town いすみ市, Chiba prefecture
September 23 and 24
CLICK for more photos The tradition goes back to the Edo period.
Groups of youths in loincloth wade into the water and heave and shake portable shrines (mikoshi), sometimes submerging them into the sea water.
There are around 19 Shinto shrines participating in this ceremony.




Ohara Mizu-kake Matsuri, Water-throwing Festival
大原 水掛祭り

Daito-machi, Iwate prefecture
February 11
CLICK for more photosIn this special afternoon festival 200 half-naked men rush along the streets into the central part of the town after having dedicated a giant shimenawa (sacred straw festoon) weighing 72 kg, with townspeople dashing cold water over the running men.



Ohasama Naked Festival 大迫裸祭り
Ohasama Village, Iwate prefecture 大迫町(おおはさままち)
March 17




Oniyo Fire Festival, "Demons Night"
鬼夜(おによ)"

Daizenji Town, Kurume, Fukuoka
January 7.


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Saidai-Ji Temple 西大寺, Okayama
Eyoo 会陽 "Ee-yoo Ceremony"
Saidaiji Hadaka Matsuri 西大寺裸祭り
Third Sunday in February




Sanja Matsuri, Festival at Asakusa Kannon 三社祭
Tokyo
Middle of May



Shimogamo Shrine Arrow Ceremony, yatori shinji
矢取り神事

"Getting over the Summer" nagoshi shinji 夏越神事
Summer Purification Rite
Kyoto, Shimogamo Shrine 下鴨神社
Beginning of August
Photos
Reference about this famous Shrine
Reference about the Festival

. Shrine-complex Kamo Jinja 賀茂神社


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Shinzan Shrine Naked Ceremony 新山神社
Shinzan shrine naked pilgrimage festival
新山神社裸まいり : shinzan jinja hadaka mairi
Honjo, Akita prefecture 秋田県由利本荘市
January 16

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Young men with offerings for the deity jostle throught the town and to the shrine.



新山や雪の参道裸者登る
Shinzan ya yuki no sandoo rasha noboru

naked men
climb the snowy approach –
Shinzan shrine


source : Hidenori Hiruta - Akita Haiku


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Shorinji Ceremony for Children, Shoorinji Kodomo Eyoo
松林寺子供会陽

Okayama Town, Miya no ura 岡山市宮浦
First Sunday in February
Photos
Since 1978, to show the strength and power of the local children and youngsters. Two groups fight for a ritual stick 宝木. They are normally dressed, but the upper body is naked.
The temple Shorinji itself is very old, dating back to the year 739.


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Takezaki Devil Expelling Festival, Enza sai
竹崎の円座祭, 竹崎観世音寺修正会鬼祭

Takezaki no Oni Matsuri 竹崎の鬼祭
Temple Kannon-Ji, Takezaki Town (Takesaki), Saga prefecture
January 2,3 or 6.
Photos
Four demons in red dress arrive with a sutra box and are chased away by the men in white loincloth. They also use drums and cymbals to drive away the demons, which finally leave as the music gets louder. The men get hold of the red coats and shred them.




Tamasaki Hadaka Matsuri 玉前裸祭り
Tamasaki Jinja Hadaka Matsuri 玉前神社はだか祭り

Tamasaki Shrine, Ichinomiya-machi, Chosei-gun, Chiba prefecture
September 13
Photos
A religious ceremony starting at ten in the morning at the shrine. Around one thirty two portable shrines (mikoshi), escorted by hundreds of onlookers and some Shinto priests, walk toward Tsurigasaki Beach. There nine other portable shrines from twelve other shrines in the neighbourhood assemble for the final rituals.



Tama Seseri 玉せせり (たませせり)
"gem hunting"
Tama seri Matsuri 玉せり祭(たませりまつり)

Tama tori Matsuri 玉取祭(たまとりまつり)
January 3. Fukuoka Town. 筥崎宮(福岡市東区)
Reference



Tokiwa Hachimangu Fire Ropes Festival
常盤八幡宮年縄(としな)奉納裸参り
Fujisaki Village 青森県南津軽郡藤崎町, Aomori prefecture
January first
Photos
A large rope (toshina) of four meters lenght and weighing more than 400 kilogramms is carried round town by men after cold water ablutions. They shout "saigi saigi" to keep warm. Its origin dates back to the year 1664.



Torisashi Odori , Catching Bird Dance
鳥刺し踊り

Unzan Town, Kojiro village 雲仙市, 神代町(こうじろまち) Nagasaki prefecture
Photos
CLICK for more photos Men in red loincloths wrapped around the whole body in a special fashion carrying long spears dance.
This has a tradition of 200 years at the shrine for Inari Daimyojin 稲荷大明神.


LOOK at the dance HERE !
GOOGLE for more reference


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Urasa no Doo Oshi ... 浦佐の堂押し
Naked Festival at Temple Fukoo-Ji 普光寺, Urasa, Niigata prefecture
hadaka oshi 裸押し.


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Wajima Cold Water Ablutions,
Kanchuu misogi 寒中みそぎ

Wajima Town, Ishikawa prefecture
End of January
Photos


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Yanaizu Hadaka Matsuri 柳津裸祭 Naked Festival at Yanaizu
(Yanagizu)
Held on January 7 in the town of Yanaizu, Fukushima prefecture
The naked participants, about 300 of them, have to climb the rope up to the bell (waniguchi) in front of the temple. Onlookers might throw snowballs at them.
As a prayer for good health, this festival is held for more than 1000 years now in honor of a dragon deity.



Yaya Matsuri, やや祭り(ややまつり)
庄内町千河原(ちがわら,) Amarume Town, Yamagata prefecture
Sunday close to January 15

Young boys aged five to fourteen take part in this ritual. They wear straw raincoats called "kendai ケンダイ" wrapped around the hips. They have a straw crown on their head and a candle in each hand. They perform "a hundred times worship" (o-hyakudo mairi) at the local shrine Hachiman Jinja 八幡神社.
On this day, young couples and pregnant women visit the shrine too and pray for the safe birth and the healthy growth of their children.




Yotsukaido Naked Shrine Visit,
Hadaka Mairi 裸参り

四街道市, Kumano Shrine 熊野神社
March 15
Reference
Half-naked men take part in this. They usually wear long or short underwear.
......................... also at Yotsukaido

Mud Slinging Festival , "Dairokuten Hadaka Matsuri"
Late February
Photos
Reference
For the deity "Dairoku Tema-O" 第六天魔王(だいろくてんまおう, Dairokuten Sama 第六天さま. Men wrestle in the muddy fields and throw around the mud or smear it on children.
WKD : Dairoku Tenma-O, Omodaru, Ayakashikone ... Deities



YUI TOWN : Big Drum Festival (O-Taiko Matsuri )
January 1 - 3



Yukake Matsuri, Throwing hot water 湯かけ祭り
Kawarayu Onsen, Naganohara-machi 長野原町, Gunma prefecture
January 20, early morning
Photos
Reference


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Zentsuji Naked Festival, Zentsuuji Eyoo
善通寺会陽, 善通寺裸祭り

Temple Zentsu-Ji, Kagawa prefecture
Late in February
More than 1000 naked men fight for two "sacred sticks".
This festival has a history of more than 400 years.
善通寺大会陽 More Photos


© PHOTO : www.tomatte.net


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


Learn more about Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Healing
Mark Schumacher


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HAIKU


naked festival -
the little boy shivers
in his father's arms


Gabi Greve, 1998, Temple Saidai-Ji, Okayama


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Related words

***** WKD - Fire Festivals (hi matsuri 火祭り)

***** WKD Saijiki for Festivals and Ceremonies


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- #hadakamatlsuri #nakedfestivals -
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1/14/2007

Fire Festivals (hi matsuri)

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Fire festivals, fire ceremonies (hi matsuri 火祭り)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: various, see below
***** Category: Observance


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Explanation

Fire festivals and rituals are quite popular in Japan.
Feuerfeste, himatsuri



Fire Festivals, hi no saiten 火の祭典
People carry torches at night.


Fire Rituals, goma 護摩, goma ku 護摩供
Mostly of the Shingon Sect, where talismans are consecrated and old talismans burned in a sacred fire inside a hall or a large sacred bonfire outside. Sometimes at the end ascetics and laymen alike walk through the hot embers (hiwatari matsuri, see below).



Most temples dedicated to the deity Fudo Myo-O have a fire ritual on the 28 of each month, the memorial day of Fudo Myo-O 不動明王 and special first and last rituals of the year, on December (osame Fudo) and January (hatsu Fudo).





Some fire festivals are also famous as "naked festivals", hadaka matsuri, see LINK below.


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... ... ... ... SPRING


. Aso Shrine Festivals 阿蘇神社
hiburi matsuri 火振り祭 (ひぶりまつり)
"fire-swinging festival"


Kihara Fudo Fire Walking Festival ... 木原不動尊 Kumamoto. Hiwatari matsuri.

Konoita Fudo Fire Walking Festival ... 高板山不動堂 Yashima, Shikoku. Hiwatari matsuri.

Otomatsuri (otoo matsuri 御灯祭, お燈まつり, 御燈祭) Torch Festival Kumano, Wakayama



.Saga no hashira taimatsu
嵯峨の柱炬 (さがのはしらたいまつ)
Saga torch ceremony
  
at Saga, Kyoto. March 15
..... Saga o-taimatsu 嵯峨御松明(さがおたいまつ)
..... hashira taimatsu 柱松明(はしらたいまつ)
..... o-taimatsu 御松明(おたいまつ)







. Hiwatari matsuri 高尾山の火渡り祭
fire-walking ritual at Mt. Takao
 
second sunday of March



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... ... ... ... SUMMER


Hanabi Senkoo 花火線香 > Firework Display (hanabi, Japan)

. Nachi no himatsuri 那智の火祭り
Fire Festival at Nachi

oogi matsuri 扇祭(おうぎまつり) hand fan festival
At shrine Nachi Taisha. July 14.
one of the three largest fire festivals of Japan


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... ... ... ... AUTUMN


Daimonji 大文字、大文字焼 Great Seeing-Off Fire in Kyoto
and other fire ceremonies during Bon Festival (o-bon) お盆

... ... ...

Kurama no hi matsuri 鞍馬の火祭 Kurama Fire Festival
くらまのひまつり. October 22
..... kanname sai 神嘗祭(かんなめさい)
..... kanjoo sai 神嘗祭(しんじょうさい)

It is said to reenact the scene of the enshrined deity greeted after traveling from the Imperial Palace to Kurama-no-Sato village, at the end of the Heian Period. On the evening of the 22nd watch fires are lit at the entrances to the local houses, and at 6:00 in the evening the town is lit up with torches carried by children.

Soon after that the local people, wearing straw warrior sandals, parade through the streets carrying a great torch and yelling along the way until they gather at the sacred precincts of the shrine. Two portable shrines amid the sparks from the torches present a grand sight. The return celebration is held on the 23rd.


© Copyright (C) Kyoto Prefecture


. WKD : Festivals at Kurama  


... ... ...


Yoshida Fire Festival (Yoshida himatsuri, Yoshida chinkasai) 吉田の火祭り
Fujiyoshida Town
Fuji Sengen Jinja no Himatsuri 富士浅間神社の火祭り


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... ... ... ... WINTER


Bellows Festival (fuigo matsuri)

. shiwasu matsuri 師走祭り Shiwasu festival .
at Mikado Jinja 神門神社 in Miyazaki, Kyushu
Celebrating a deified Korean king and his sons.


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... ... ... ... NEW YEAR


Many Fire rituals on January 1 are held for the people to take home some sacred embers or fire to light the own hearth fire for the first soup of the year.
Water for this soup is called
Wakamizu 若水 "young water" .


初護摩 Hatsu-goma, First Fire Ceremony in honor of Fudo Myo-O
..... Oyama Fudo, Fire Ceremony


Kaji hajime 鍛冶初, First use of the smithy
..... Hatsu kamado 初竃, first fire in the stove

... ... ...

Nyoodoosai 繞道祭 にょうどうさい Nyoodoo Festival
gojinka matsuri 御神火まつり(ごじんかまつり)
At the great shrine in Miwa in Nara prefecture. 大神神社(桜井市三輪)
At night on January 1.
People try to catch some embers or light ropes and take the fire home to light the own hearth fire for the first soup of the year.

© Nyodosai. More photos are here !

Look at all the Festivals of Omiwa Shrine

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Okera mairi 白朮詣 Okera Festival at Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto

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Oniyo Fire Festival 鬼夜(おによ)"Demon's Night"
Daizenji Town, Kurume, Fukuoka
January 7.
Big pine torches are carried around (taimatsu mawashi). This festival goes back more than 1600 years. In 368 A.D. a local low-ranking officer took revenge on a nobleman, who was very cruel, and killed him with a large torch. Nowadays, this festival is intended to cleanse the shrine compound of evil spirits. People pray for the wellbeing in the coming year.
Since 1955 it is an important cultural property.
Tarutama Shrine, 玉垂宮 久留米大善寺



PHOTO © The Nishinippon Shimbun.

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Sagichoo Festival 左義長
Fire Rituals and Coming of Age Ceremonies


. Sagichoo Matsuri 左義長まつり Sagicho Festival.
at Omi Hachiman 近江八幡
Omi Hachiman no Hi matsuri (Omihachiman Shrine fire festival)


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Toba himatsuri 鳥羽火祭 (とばひまつり) Toba Fire Festival

On the second sunday of February
at the shrine Toba Shinmeisha 鳥羽神明社 in Aichi
愛知県幡豆郡幡豆町

After all men are purified in the cold water of the sea, to men who are in their un-auspicious year (yakudoshi 厄年) have to jump over large pine torches and then they fight over 12 ropes.
The result is like an oracle for the weather and a good harvest of the coming year.
Mikawa-Toba Fire Festival

quote
The fire festival of Toba-Shinmeisha
(Himatsuri, registered as the National Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
Toba-no-himatsuri, the fire festival of Toba, dates back to more than 1200 years ago, taking place on the second Sunday of February every year. It is a festival of divination that forecasts the harvest of the coming year, by dividing the local area into the east team and the west team: “Fukuji” and “Kanji”.
They finish the ritual purification “Misogi” in the afternoon.


At about 8pm, men in their strange costumes made from old festival banners jump into two great bonfires called “Suzumi”, in order to look for the “Shingi”, the holy tree, as well as the 12 ropes signifying the months of the year. The men are often referred to as ‘Neko’, i.e. cats.
The sight of men passionately fighting against the flames is simply breath taking. According to legend, the chopsticks made from the embers prevent bad teeth, and the same embers used for sericulture secures good silk.
source : www.city.nishio.aichi.jp


- Reference : Videos of the Festival


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The following are not listed in the saijiki:

Taimatsu Torches Festival in Sukagawa city, Fukushima
November 12, 2011

It's one of the three largest fire festivals in Japan. Sukagawa Taimatsu Akashi, or torches fire festival, took place on November 12th at Gorosan of Sukagawa-city in Fukushima prefecture attracting many spectators.
This time round, the organizing committee of the festival refrained from using the local pine trees due to suspected radiation from the nuclear plant's accident. Yet, many volunteers from all over Japan sent their branches of pine trees, thus made it possible to stage the fire event.
The Taimatsu Akashi, or pine tree torches fire, was lighted off from the top of the twenty large torches, some 10 meters high and three tons each.
The Taimatsu Akashi festival originated in 1589 to pay respects to the late lord of Sukagawa who was overthrown by Date Masamune. In order to ward off their would-be attackers, residents constructed a number of giant torches and set them alight on top of a hill.
The festival includes a parade, during which the 10m long torches are carried throught the streets of the town, before finally being erected on top of Midorigaoka park and then set alight. Torches are constructed or sponsored by local schools and businesses, whose students or employees later carry them in the parade.
source : www.allvoices.com

Even after the big earthquake
松明あかし 須賀川

source : city.sukagawa.fukushima.jp


. Fukushima Folk Art - 福島県 .


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Worldwide use

last Tuesday of January
Up-Helly-Aa Lerwick, Shetland Islands.
Norse ancestors welcomed the return of the sun god with Yule,
a 24-day period of feasting, storytilling, and bonfires. The last night
of the festival was caalled up-Helly-Aa or End of the Holy Days.モ
model Viking boat is carried in night procession and burned with torches.

Jan 27
Birthday of Zoroaster, 6th cent. BC Persian fire-prophet

Jan 31
Celtic - Traditional Eve of Imbolc (Brigid's Day)
..... Brigid's Day (Ireland) St. Brigid

READ MORE
Fire Festivals and Ceremonies of the World

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Things found on the way



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HAIKU


火祭や炎切り取るカメラの目 (カメラアイ)
himatsuri ya hono kiritoru kamera ai

fire festival -
the camera cuts through
the flames


野田ゆたか Noda Yutaka, Kurama Fire Festival
http://www2.ezbbs.net/cgi/bbs?id=haiku&dd=39&p=5

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Related words


***** Hadaka Matsuri, Naked Festivals


***** . Kebesu festival (kebesu sai ケベス祭)


***** . Ota Fire Festival 太田の火まつり  
Daisen town, Akita



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1/01/2007

God of the Year (toshi toku jin)

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]
. Legends about Toshitokujin .
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Deity of the Year (toshi toku jin, toshitokujin)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: New Year
***** Category: Observance


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Explanation

According to ancient Asian lore, the new year comes with a new deity, the
"Deity of the Year" toshitokujin 歳德神.
Said to be female.
Since she likes her place to be clean and tidy, people have to clean their homes too to welcome her.
. cleaning at the end of the year
kure no sooji, kure no oo sooji くれのそおじ .

susuharai 煤払 cleaning the soot

He is welcomed to stay in the
. kadomatsu 門松 pines (decorations) at the gate .
until the 7th day of the New Year.
This time is called "matsu no uchi", inside the home with the pine decorations.
The New Year decorations must be set up a few day before the last day of the year.
Otherwise they will be
ichiya kazari 一夜飾り one-night decorations, an unlucky omen.
And they are taken down on the seventh day.


This is part of the Yin-Yang Theory of China, called "onmyoodoo 陰陽道" in Japanese.



He is celebrated in a part of the estate which shows to the auspicious direction of this year (ehoo 恵方). People erect a small shelf with sacred decorations for the purpose and pray for a boutifull harvest and good luck as farmers.

In some parts of Japan, a special pine pole is erected in this direction,
auspicious pine pole, ogamimatsu 拝み松.


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More kigo in this context

God of the year, toshigami 年神(としがみ)
toshitoku 年德(としとく)
toshitoku san 年德さん(としとくさん)
..... wakadoshi san 若年さん(わかどしさん)
"Mr. New Year" shoogatsu san 正月さん(しょうがつさん)

toshi jisan 年爺さん(としじいさん) "grandfather of the year"
o toshi sama お年さま(おとしさま)



shelf for the new year, toshidana 年棚(としだな)
..... toshi toku dana 歳德棚(としとくだな)
"shelf in the auspicious direction", ehoodana 恵方棚(えほうだな)
"shelf for a boutiful year", hoonen dana 豊年棚(ほうねんだな)
"straw bag for the year", toshidawara 年俵(としだわら)



とぶ工夫猫のしてけり恵方棚
tobu kufuu neko no shite keri ehoodana

the cat gets ready
to jump on it -
shelf in the auspicious direction

Tr. Gabi Greve

. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 .


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A special shrine for the New Year
- 正月寺歳徳神社


Toshitoku Jinja, Fukushima, Iwaki Town

福島県いわき市小川町上平字田之尻47
This shrine was built more than 1500 years ago.




It will be especially visited in January 2012, after the great earthquake and the destruction done in Fukushima and Iwaki town.


Shrine for the New Year




Toshitokujin Deity


Other festivals :
nanatsu mairi 「七つ詣(まい)り」
for children of the age of 7
Juusan mairi 「十三詣り」for children at the age of 13

Check here for more photos:
source : www.toshitokujinja.jp


If I remember well, the access road to the shrine had been damaged and is now in repair to make it accessible till the New Year visit for 2012.

. Japan after the BIG earthquake March 11, 2011 .


There are other temples of the same name 歳徳神社 in other parts of Japan.

米子市東福原8-10 Yonago, Tottori
兵庫県姫路市, Himeji, Hyogo

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quote
Toshigami, Toshitokujin
A kami that visits during the New Year's season, heralding the advent of the New Year, also called Shōgatsu-sama (lit., "Honorable New Year").

The name Toshitokujin has origins in Chinese Yin-Yang divination (Jp. Onmyōdō), and refers to a goddess with dominion over auspicious directions (ehō) for the current year. The Toshitokujin cult thus involves a core of ancient beliefs in the appearance of a kami at the first of the year and who assures an abundant harvest, to which has been added additional elements of Chinese divination cults.

Observances to the kami of the new year are ordinarily held by individual families, who prepare a special altar apart from their ordinary kamidana, called variously toshigamidana, toshitokudana, or ehōdana; such altars may be decorated with shimenawa and mirror-shaped rice cakes (kagami mochi), rice, dedicatory sake (mike) and salt.

Derived from the cult of Onmyōdō, the names toshitokudana and ehōdana indicate that each year's auspicious direction (ehō) is under the influence of the Toshitokujin. In some areas, a pillar called ogamimatsu ("supplication pine"), or pine branches may be erected beside the hearth as a vehicle or medium (yorishiro) for the kami's presence.

Both the conventional toshigami and the toshitokujin of Onmyōdō are alike in appearing during the New Year's season, but based on correspondences with the "spirit altar" (shōryōdana) of the summer Obon rites, and other similarities between ceremonies of New Year's and Obon, it is believed that the the toshigami represents a relatively earlier form of cult than that of the toshitokujin.
source : Iwai Hiroshi, 2005, KokuGakuIn


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© PHOTO Wikipedia
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AD%B3%E5%BE%B3%E7%A5%9E


Visit in the auspicious direction, ehoo mairi
..... 恵方詣 えほうまいり
, ゑはうまゐり
Visit to a temple or shrine in the lucky direction of the year

auspiciuos direction, ehoo, ehô 恵方(えほう)、ehoo michi 恵方道(えほうみち)、ehoo 吉方(えほう)、兄方(えほう)、得方(えほう)、 元方(えほう)、
aki no kata (aki no hoo, aki no hô) 明の方, 明きの方(あきのかた)

praying in the auspicious direction, ehoo ogami 恵方拝(えほうおがみ)


.. .. ..

- - - - - Kobayashi Issa - - - - -

おくさがや恵方に出し杖の穴
oku Saga ya ehoo ni ideshi tsue no ana

deep in Saga--
my New Year's walk
follows holes made by canes



大原や恵方に出し杖の穴
ôhara ya ehô ni ideshi tsue no ana

big field--
my New Year's walk
follows holes made by canes



大雪や出入りの穴も 明きの方
ooyuki ya deiri no ana mo aki no kata

a big snow--
the exit tunnel
is my lucky direction

Tr. David Lanoue


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下駄はいて畠歩くや兄方詣
geta haite hatake aruku ya ehoo mairi

wearing nice clogs
in a vegetable patch --
this year's lucky direction

Tr. Chris Drake

This warmly humorous hokku is from 1824, when Issa was living in his hometown and hoping to meet the right woman to remarry after the death of his first wife and all their children. On the first day of the lunar new year (Jan. 31 in 1824) it was the custom to make a pilgrimage to the Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple where one's ancestors had worshiped or where they were buried. At the same time, it was also believed that the female god governing good fortune for the new year stayed in a different direction each year, based on the principles of Chinese Yin-Yang divination. In order to gain her favor, people had to walk in the direction in which this god of good luck was staying on the first day of the new year. In the country, however, there were fewer roads, and it was difficult to go to a shrine or temple where you normally worshiped while also walking in the lucky direction, so people often walked first to a location from which they could make their pilgrimage in the right direction. Even so, they often had to improvise new routes.

In the hokku, someone has dressed in nice wooden clogs and his or her best clothes in order to visit a shrine or temple early on New Year's morning. In order to walk in the new year's lucky direction, however, he or she must leave roads and paths behind and head right through a vegetable field (as opposed to a rice paddy), a muddy place you don't usually walk through with nice clogs. A few vegetables may already be planted at this time of year, and there could be a bit of snow on the ground, so walking with clogs is probably difficult and hardly elegant. In any case, it is an odd sight. If the person wearing clogs is Issa, he is probably smiling at the way he must look as he picks his way through the field.

Chris Drake


. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .


. Geta, Wooden Sandals, Clogs, 下駄 .


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Plaque for Divination of the Auspicious Direction
PHOTO Gabi Greve


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


During the New Year rituals of a household, one of the men in the household

toshiotoko, toshi otoko 年男(としおとこ)"man of the year"

waka otoko 若男(わかおとこ)"young man"
sechi otoko 節男(せちおとこ)"man for the seasonal festival)
yaku otoko 役男(やくおとこ)"man to perform duties"
manriki otoko 万力男(まんりきおとこ)"man with a thousand strength"
iwai taroo 祝太郎(いわいたろう)"Taro for Rituals"

. Toshiotoko 年男 "man of the year" .


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HAIKU



寝勝手に梅の咲けり我恵方
ne katte ni ume no saki keri waga ehô

while I slept
the plum tree bloomed!
lucky direction walk





吾庵や曲たなりに恵方棚
waga io ya magatta nari ni ehô tana

my hut--
it's a crooked path
to the New Year's shelf





足の向く村が我らが恵方かな
ashi no muku mura ga warera ga ehô kana

we follow our feet
to the village...
our New Year's walk


This haiku refers to the New Year's custom of visiting a shrine or temple located in a lucky direction. Ironically, Issa and his cohorts are heading for a village and (I assume) its tavern.


More EHOO haiku by
Issa
Tr. David Lanoue


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恵方とはこの道をただ進むかな
ehoo to wa kono michi o tada susumu kana

auspicious direction -
that means simply following
our own road
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Takahama Kyoshi

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大橋を恵方へ渡り詣りけり
oohashi o ehoo e watari mairi keri

crossing the Great Bridge
in the auspicious direction
for the New Year

(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Hasegawa Kanajo

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Related words


Ehoosha 恵方社 Eho Shrine, Ehosha Shrine
Kyoto

This is the only shrine in Japan which rotates and changes its direction every year, so the visitors can bow toward the auspicious direction of the New Year.
The priests come to turn the upper stone on a special device to change the direction.

WASHOKU : Ehomaki Sushi Roll (ehoomaki)
kigo for early spring
Eaten on February 3 for Setsubun !


. Ichiyoo raifuku 一陽来福 .
"luck is coming back"

***** . Mi-Toshi no Kami 御年神(みとしのかみ) .
at 大和神社 Oyamato Jinja, Nara


***** . Owari shi Kannon 尾張四観音
The Four Kannon Temples of Owari Nagoya .



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Festivals and Ceremonies of Japan


. Legends about Toshitokujin .

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