Onbashira Festival

Japanese: 御柱祭 - おんばしらまつり

This festival is held only in the years of the tiger and the monkey at Suwa Taisha (Kamisha and Shimosha) in Nagano Prefecture. It is also called Mihashirasai, and its official name is Shikinen Zoei Onbashira Taisai. Giant fir trees called Onbashira are erected to surround the shrine buildings of Kamisha (Honmiya and Maemiya) and Shimosha (Harumiya and Akimiya), and the treasure halls of Kamisha Honmiya and Shimosha Harumiya and Akimiya are rebuilt to transfer the divine spirits. Each shrine has four Onbashira, numbered 1 to 4, with the first pillar being 5 jo 5 shaku (about 17 m) long and the second and subsequent pillars being 5 shaku shorter. The areas in charge of pulling each Onbashira are decided by lottery at Kamisha and by precedent at Shimosha. For Kamisha, Onbashira are cut from the shrine forest on Mt. Migoya, a branch peak of the Yatsugatake Mountains, and for Shimosha, Onbashira are cut from the Higashimata National Forest, and are pulled to the shrine along with Kiyari-uta songs. The festival mainly consists of the Yamadashi Festival in April and the Satobiki Festival in May. The Yamadashi Festival features highlights such as the Kiotoshi, where the pillars of the Kamisha slide down a steep cliff, and the Kawagoe, where the Kamisha pillars cross the Miyagawa River. The Satobiki Festival features a horseback procession and the final Tate-Obashira, where pillars are erected at the four corners of the shrine. The construction of the Treasure Hall involves replacing one of two buildings that stand side by side. A transfer ceremony to move the divine spirit to the newly built Treasure Hall is held on the eve of the Satobiki Festival at the Shimosha Shrine and on June 15th at the Kamisha Shrine after all the Onbashira ceremonies have been completed. In addition to the Suwa Taisha Shrine, Onbashira Festivals are also held in the same year at Komiya, the tutelary deity of each village, Shukushin, or other deities of the same clan, as well as at shrines worshipped at the household deities and business establishments in the Suwa region. In addition, shrines around Nagano Prefecture, centered around Suwa Shrine, also hold the festival in the same or the following year, and there are Suwa Shrines in Gunma Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture, and other areas that also hold the Onbashira Festival. (→Suwa Faith)

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

長野県の諏訪大社（上社・下社）で寅年と申年にのみ行なわれる祭り。みはしらさいともいい，正式には式年造営御柱大祭という。御柱と呼ばれるモミの巨木を上社（本宮・前宮）と下社（春宮・秋宮）の社殿を囲むように建てるとともに，上社本宮と下社春宮・秋宮の宝殿を建て替えて神霊を移す。各社とも御柱は 1の柱から 4の柱まで 4本あり，1の柱は 5丈5尺（約 17m）で，2の柱以降は 5尺落ちで短くなる。各御柱の曳行担当地区は，上社は抽選で決まり，下社は前例によって決まっている。上社は八ヶ岳の支峰の御小屋山にある神社林，下社は東俣国有林から御柱を切り出し，木遣歌とともに神社まで曳行して建てる。祭りはおもに 4月の山出し祭と 5月の里曳き祭からなる。山出し祭では，急な崖を滑り落ちる「木落し」や上社の御柱が宮川を渡る「川越し」などの見せ場があり，里曳き祭では御騎馬行列などが行なわれ，最後の「建て御柱」で社殿の四隅に柱を建てる。宝殿の造営は，2棟並立している建物の一方を建て替えるもので，新たに建てられた宝殿に神霊を移す遷座祭が，下社では里曳き祭の前夜，上社では御柱の行事がすべて終わったあとの 6月15日に行なわれる。諏訪大社のほかにも，諏訪地方では小宮（こみや）と呼ばれる各集落の氏神や祝神などと呼ばれる同族の神，各家の屋敷神や事業所などでまつられている祠（ほこら）などでも同年に御柱祭が行なわれる。また，長野県内の諏訪神社を中心とする各地の神社でも同年または翌年に行なわれ，群馬県や山梨県，鳥取県などでも御柱祭を行なっている諏訪神社がある。（→諏訪信仰）

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