Akutai Festival - Akutai Festival

This festival is characterized by the crowds of people who gather and badmouth each other. It is also called the Akko Festival, the Akutare Festival, or the Kenka Festival. It is said to be based on the belief that good fortune will be gained if you can defeat your opponent in argument, but it is often held at the beginning of the year and originally had a strong meaning of fortune-telling for the year. In fact, at Kiyomizu Temple in Yasugi City, Shimane Prefecture, people who come to worship at Setsubun on the night of Setsubun badmouth each other, and it is called the "Kiyomizu Fight Festival," and it is said that if you can defeat your opponent in argument, you will have a good harvest that year. The exchange of insults was intense at festivals such as the Okera Festival (White Atractylodes Visit) at Yasaka Shrine in Gion, Kyoto, the Akutai Festival at Bishamondo in Oiwa-cho, Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture, and the Akutai-machi Festival at Izuna Shrine behind Atago Shrine in Izumi, Kasama City, Ibaraki Prefecture. In general, at festivals, behavior and speech that differ from normal everyday life is noticeable, and insults are considered to be one example of this. Spectators also yell insults at performers at the Flower Festivals of Toei Town, Toyone Village, and Tsugu Town in Kitashitara County, Aichi Prefecture (National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property), the Shimotsuki Festival of Toyama in Shimoina County, Nagano Prefecture (National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property), and the Ennen Festival of Motsuji Temple in Hiraizumi Town, Iwate Prefecture (National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property). However, the meaning of insults has been forgotten in each area, and the occurrence of such behavior has decreased significantly in recent years.

[Takeda Dan]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

集まった群衆が互いに悪口を言い合うことが特徴の祭礼。悪口(あっこう)祭、悪たれ祭、喧嘩(けんか)祭などともいう。相手を言い負かせば幸運を得るとしたことに基づくらしいが、年頭の祭りに多く、もと年占(としうら)の意味が濃かったようである。現に、島根県安来(やすぎ)市の清水(きよみず)寺では、節分の夜参詣(さんけい)人同士が悪口を言い合い、「清水の喧嘩祭」と称され、相手に言い勝てばその年豊作になるとされた。京都祇園(ぎおん)・八坂神社の白朮(おけら)祭（白朮参り）をはじめ、栃木県足利(あしかが)市大岩町の毘沙門(びしゃもん)堂における悪態祭、茨城県笠間(かさま)市泉(いずみ)の愛宕(あたご)神社裏手にある飯綱(いづな)神社における悪態祭(あくていまち)など悪口の言い合いは激しかった。いったいに祭りの場では常の日と異なる挙措言動が目だつもので、悪口もその一種とみなされる。愛知県北設楽(きたしたら)郡東栄(とうえい)町、豊根(とよね)村、設楽町津具(つぐ)の花祭（国の重要無形民俗文化財）、長野県下伊那(しもいな)郡の遠山の霜月祭（国の重要無形民俗文化財）、岩手県平泉町毛越寺(もうつうじ)の延年(えんねん)（国の重要無形民俗文化財）などでも、見物人から演者に対して悪口が飛ばされる。ただし、各地とも悪口の意味が忘れられ、近来はかなり減少してきている。

［竹田　旦］

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