New chopsticks - Niibashi

This is an annual event held on June 27th of the lunar calendar. In Chiba Prefecture and other areas, udon noodles and dumplings made from that year's wheat are eaten with chopsticks made from the green stalks of Japanese pampas grass or Japanese kaya. It is also called the New Hashi no Iwai. In Nagano and Niigata Prefectures, the event is held on the 27th of June or July, and green pampas grass stalks are added to red rice and offered to the Shinto altar. It is also called the Aohashi no Toshitori or Obana Matsuri, and people pray for the safe growth of crops. It was influenced by the Misayama Festival at Suwa Taisha Shrine in Nagano Prefecture (now held a month later on August 27th), and is related to the fact that the festival day of the nearly 10,000 Suwa Shrines across the country is on the 27th.

[Shoji Inoguchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

旧暦6月27日に行われる年中行事。千葉県などではその年とれた小麦でつくったうどんや団子を、ススキやカヤの青い（緑色）茎でつくった箸で食べる。新箸の祝いともいう。長野県や新潟県では6月または7月の27日の行事で、尾花（ススキ）の茎のまだ青いのを赤飯に添えて神棚に供える。青箸の年取りとも尾花祭りともいい、作物の無事生育を祈る。長野県諏訪(すわ)大社の御射山(みさやま)祭（現在は月遅れで8月27日）の影響によるもので、全国に1万社近くある諏訪神社の祭日が27日であるのと関連する。

［井之口章次］

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