2023.12.15

Local culture

Shinshu Winter, traditional tradition

Nagano Prefecture, surrounded by a wide terrain between the mountains, has been nurturing a unique culture rooted in the climate of various places, opening up a harsh environment. Especially in the winter, there are historical traditional events for each land, as the winter solstice and the New Year reaches milestones. Introducing traditional winter events that live in the area.

Vol.1 Winter solstice, the freshness of the sun and life, the Shimotsuki Festival in Toyama
Vol.2 Ueda's New Year's poetry Yokazudo Fair and the Semin in the future

Vol.1 Winter solstice, the freshness of the sun and life, the Shimotsuki Festival in Toyama

Image: Kokugakuin University, a lecturer, Minaminobu Shinshu Folk Performing Arts Inheritance Promotion Council Advisor Hiroto Sakurai

Lecturer at Kokugakuin University
Minami -Shinshu Folk Entertainment Promotion Council Advisor
Hiroto Sakurai

Image: Tenryu River's tributary, Toyoyama River, the area of the deep valley, Toyama -go

▲ The tributary of the Tenryu River ・ Toyoyama -go, the area of the deep valley that spreads along the Toyama River

▲ In the kettle set in the center of the shrine, hot water that combines holy water and fire is boiling.

In Minami -Shinshu, which is a treasure trove of folk performing arts, many precious traditions and customs born in the lives of the mountain village are inherited. One of them is the "Toyama -go Shimotsuki Festival", which is transmitted to the unexplored area of the prefecture, Toyama -go. This is a festival of Yudate Kagura, which is designated as an important intangible folk cultural property of the country (a ritual that boils hot water in Ogama and hopes for no disease -free disasters and rich harvest).

Image: First of all, we will do a strict "god -joking" that welcomes the gods of the whole country, and carefully repeat the hot water in the night.

▲ First of all, we will do a strict "god -in" that welcomes the gods of the whole country, and carefully repeat the hot water in the night.

Image: Originally, at the dawn time, the aspects of the gods in Mr. Toyama and the gods in the village appear.

▲ Originally, at the time of dawn, the faces of Mr. Toyama's spirit and the gods in the village appear.

It is reported that during the winter solstice of December (the lunar calendar Shimotsuki), when the time during the day became the shortest and the vitality of all things was weakened, we invited gods from all over the country and prayed for the resurrection of hospitality in hot water and was destroyed by the peasant revolt. One major feature is that the religion of the lord, Tomoyama, is a deeply shown.

▲ Purify yourself in the hot water dedicated to the gods and wish for a year's health

Image: Pag spells, tie marks, cut nine -letter, leave a mixture of Shinto and Buddha.

▲ Call spells, tie marks and cut nine -letter, leave a mixture of Shinto and Buddha.

It is said that the "Tomoyama Shimotsuki Festival" is the only one in the country in the country, which is a boiled water that is boiled in a kettle with bare hands.

Image: Yudate Kagura is held at each shrine in Uemura, Iida City, Iida City.

▲ Yudate Kagura is held at each shrine in Uemura and Minami Shinano, Iida City.

Image: Capers, hot water, numbers, compositions, and types of instruments are different for each type

▲ The kettle and hot water, the number and composition, the type of musical instrument, etc. are different for each type of 4 types.

At present, the day is changed in eight shrines in December, and its characteristics are different for each region, divided into four types (systems).

Image: Tenhaki, who appears at the end of the face, has a bow and arrow in a glittering costume. It is said to draw a bow towards the direction of the east, west, north and south, and to the heavens and earth, and drove off the external road with the evil demon.

▲ Tenhaki, who appears at the end of the face, has a bow and arrow in a glittering costume. It is said to draw a bow towards the direction of the east, west, north and south, and to the heavens and earth, and drove off the external road with the evil demon.

It is said that the origin is not clear, but during the Kamakura period, when Tsuruoka Hachimangu Shrine was prosperous, it may have been brought in as a manor ritual from the history of the only territory of the same palace in Shinshu. It is Hiroto Sakurai, a leader from here and a leading researcher in Minami -Shinshu's folk performing arts research, saying, "It is thought that the prototype of the current festival has been created in the early Edo period."

"In Toyama -go, where the natural environment is strict and closed, there is a life that feels close to the existence of the gods and hopes for peace. However, people have thought that it is the curse of Mr. Toyama, and it is unique nationwide because it can overcome the changes in the festival and the background of the festival. It's a festival. "

At first, it was held at Yawata Shrine, but after the middle of the Edo period, it would be spread to shrines in Toyama -go, such as Suwa Shrine and Kumano Shrine. From the end of the Edo period to the Meiji era, the aspects of the gods and the Takagami in the village began to be dedicated one after another, and turned into a festival seeking the blessing of the gods. After the end of the war, the elements of people's fun festivals will be added.
Recently, children who learned dance at local elementary and junior high schools have actively participated in the festival. There is also a movement for young people to support the festival.
"If this festival, which can be said to be nurturing local identities, the vitality of the area will decline at a stretch. There is a problem of declining birthrate and aging population and population decline, but the continuation of the festival is the region. Is a healthy proof, "says Sakurai.

"For the people of Toyama -go, this festival is also a sense of fulfillment that spent a year safely and a milestone that reached the New Year, so it is not just an unusual festival, but from the current form of the festival, the life of Oyama -go old. I would be glad if you could feel the depth of the festival as a place for learning about the ancient Japanese religion. "

Sakurai's words also felt the pride and mission to support local traditions.

Toyama Shimotsuki Festival
Uemura, Iida City, Minami Shinano
Address: 300-1 Ninomachi, Shinshu City, Nagano City
phone:0265-53-3755(Iida City Board of Education Secretariat Cultural Properties Protection Division Cultural Property Protection Section)
Telephone:0260-34-1071(Tourism Association of Toyama -go)

https://www.city.iida.lg.jp/site/bunkazai/shimotsukimatsuri.html(Iida City)
https://shimotsukimatsuri.com/

* This article is information as of November 2023.

Vol.2 Ueda's Shinshu Winds Poetry Yokazudo Day and the future of Sumin

Image: Shinano Kokubunji Temple Arrangement Hodo (left), Shinano Kokubunji Reconstruction Association Participation, Yatsukado Fair Countermeasures Committee Vice Chairman Noboru Kanai (right)

Shinano Kokubunji Temple priest Shiomichi (left)
Shinano Kokubunji Reconstruction Association Participation, Yakushido Fair Countermeasures Committee Vice Chairman Noboru Kanai (right)

Image: The precincts of Shinano Kokubunji Temple, where the main hall (Yakushido) and the triple pagoda designated by the national important cultural property are available. The Mie Pagoda is the middle of the Muromachi period and is considered to be the oldest tower of Kokubunji.

▲ The precincts of Shinano Kokubunji Temple, where the main hall (Yakushido) and the triple pagoda designated by the national important cultural property are available. The Mie Pagoda is the middle of the Muromachi period and is considered to be the oldest tower of Kokubunji.

Shinano Kokubunji in Ueda was built in 741 in Tenpei 13 (741) by Emperor Seibu in the Nara period. As a central part of the region, the people are worshiped by the people in a long history, and they are locally called "Yakudo".

Here, every year, on January 7 and 8, "Hachiido Fair" is held. Daruma City and stalls are lined up, and many worshipers come from inside and outside the prefecture, as well as the first visit. The amulet that hopes for the evils, plague escapes, and prosperity of descendants are "Somin Shouri". There are two types of things to prepare at the temple and the "Eyomin" with the pattern of the Seven Lucky Gods made by people in the area called "Soujin". Many people are so excited that they are limited.

▲ The enlarged view of the Yakido Fair Map of Ueda City's designated cultural property. On the porch of the main hall, the same form of Souin's future is distributed. The Yokudodo Fair is currently selected as a nationally selected intangible folk cultural property as "Somin -don -shaped in the future of Yaikado, Ueda -shi".

The "Soujin Future Style" is transmitted in the form of paper bills and wood amulets in temples and shrines all over Japan, but Shinano Kokubunji is very characteristic as a hexagonal pillar. According to the old documents "Ushito Tenno Festival" (copy of the 1480 book), it has already been distributed in the Muromachi period, and depicts the state of the Yokazu -do Day of Shinano Kokubunji in the early Edo period. The Don -Family Map "(Shindo Kokubunji Museum, Shindo Temple Museum) has been sold on the morning of the 8th, as it is now on the morning of the 8th.

▲ A salty priest who explains the copy of the Yakudo Fair Map in his hand. Since the Edo period, I have been visiting from a distance, such as Iiyama City and Kita Gunma in northern Nagano Prefecture.

"Shinano Kokubunji is destroyed during the Warring States period except for the triple pagoda, and the origin of the Yokazudo -Day Day is not known because there are no historical materials left, but with the development of the monetary economy, the city is naturally occurring, and the city in the future. It is presumed that the new development has been achieved by incorporating a folk religion, but it is not clear in the future of the Sprinkle, but in the Edo period, the world has settled down. It is thought that the shape was devised in a elaborate three -dimensional type. "

This is what Shinano Kokubunji Temple priest, Shio -in -ri -Izudo.

▲ Mr. Kanai, who has been selling Embami drawn by his father at the Yokazudo Fair since junior high school, and gradually began to draw his father's paintings as a sample of 60 to 70 years. What you have in your hand is the future mark of Shiraki before being drawn

"According to my father, when the Shinano Kokubunji, which had been burned down, was rebuilt in the Edo period, the farmers in the village who cooperated were allowed to distribute the Embami and the current Sanshin lecture and the Esosujin. Roots is said to be Noboru Kanai, one of the 88 -year -old Lecturer of Soujin.

▲ Mainly shaved the hexagonal pillar by hand, the letters and patterns are written in vermilion and ink, and the prayer is distributed in the main hall before the fate day.

The old documents that described the past have the name of the 35 Sumin Lectures, and according to Mr. Kanai, it is presumed that most of the region was the Sotomin lecture in the Edo period. Or The tradition of painting is inherited by the family for generations, and Kanai is also working on the production of Eisujin with the skills inherited from his father.

"I can be surprised because I draw in ink without a sketch, but it can be drawn naturally because the picture of the Seven Lucky Gods is firmly in my head. Some of the South Lecturers, the Olympics according to the world. Some people add pictures such as emblems and Shinkansen "(Mr. Kanai)

The number of Emitomo is limited, and currently 10 large, 23, 30 small, and a total of 63. On the other hand, only 11 houses continue to be making Emosen. While the shortage of successors is becoming an issue, in the temple, the wood of the material of the material, the driedoyagi (Yamanarashi) tree, and the Soujin future mark prepared at the temple is "Sase" to the nearby Danniers. The door is gradually expanding, such as helping the production as a course.

"Drooyani is a soft and easy -to -process material with white skin, is not noticeable, and the literature described in the 15th century shows that the willow trees are used in the future marks. However, in recent years. With the lack of drorton growing in the mountains, in 1993, with the cooperation of the Ueda Forest Station at the time, about 30,000 seedlings were raised and planted in the local mountains. There are many people who say that they do not feel like a year in the New Year. For this reason, I would like to continue distributing by devising tradition while protecting the tradition. "

There are some families in the region that have been carefully gathering the future of Soujin since the Edo period. At the Shinano Kokubunji Museum, the Shinano Kokudai Temple Museum is also exhibiting the Soujin in the area of the Edo period and the eleventh Sotomin of the Sosan lectures that remain since the Edo period. The lovely amulet of the hexagonal pillar is also a source of the hearts of local people.