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KINEKOSA MATSURI
(Kinekosa Festival)
Jan. 17 of the lunar calendar
Shichisho-sha (shrine)
In this festival, twelve men in yakudoshi (Ten adults age of 42 and two children age of 7? and 16?)
take very important roles.
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It has been said that Kinekosa Festival has history of more than 1,000
years.
Every January 17th in the lunar calendar, it is held in order to pray for
the driving away of bad fortune, prosperity of ones descendents, public
peace,
a good harvest for the five grains, etc.
The name of KINEKOSA derive from kine for a mallet and kosa for rice cake scraped from a mallet.
This festival is considered a Nagoya City intangible cultural ethnic treasure
and is one of the three remarkable festivals in Owari area
The other two are Ishiage-matsuri in Inuyama and
Hosha-shinji in Atsuta shrine in Nagoya (maybe)
( Naked festival in Kounomiya is probably special.)
The main participants in the Shinto ceremony are
ten 42-year-old men who are in yaku-doshi and two 12-year-old boys.
They are called yakusha.
They have to be purified for three days in the Shichisho-sha shrine.
(ex. rinse their body by cold water in the morning )
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<Schedule>
River Festval
(main ceremony)
12:30 -
At the Shounai River (East shore)
North of the Bamba-Oohashi bridge
near Shichisho-sha shrine
One man climbs up the bamboo tree
and the direction the bamboo tree breaksb when he reaches the top tells
us
whether this year's fortune will be in good or bad.
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| Shinto priest purify the men called "Yakusha"and a green bamboo. |
Male participants carry a green bamboo tree to the Shonai River |
Brrrrrrrrrrrrr Cold !!! Feb.7 2004,windy, the low for the day was -2degC / 28.4 degF. The high was 8 degC/ 46.4 degF |
Carry the bamboo and put it up in the middle of the river. |
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| Climb up | still climbing | almost there! | good luck year ? or... |
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| Leaving the bamboo in the river so that priests will check the direction later |
Close up |
Parade
14:00 -
on the approach to the Shichisho-sha shrine
Shintou priests, yakusha (Twelve men in yakudoshi [Ten adults and two children] who participated the river festival ),
ujiko ( parishoners of a community shrine enshrining the local shinto deity/ujigami),
etc.
wear traditional costumes and parade with a traditional festival music
band.
Hon-matsuri
(main festival)
15:00 -
at Shichisho-sha shrine
Norito ( a formulaic statement in the classical language addressed to the deities)
is presented, dances by girls who are in evil year are dedicated, etc.
Evil elimination | Tools | |
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| Each participants of the ceremony who called "yakusha" put their hands on other members' shoulder ahead of them. | ||
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| Especially men in yakudoshi really want to be beaten in order to get good luck. |
"I am ready" . Visitors also want to be beaten. | |
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| "Have at you !" | Hit ! | Go through the crowd. People compete to touch |
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| Oops ! The next target is.... | Wow, it's coming ! These men are so happy! | Kitaaaaaaa!!!! |
Mochi-kubari
17:00-
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| Kagami-mochi | Two pieces of kagami-mochi I got | People gather at the site to receive mochi |
| After the kinekosa ceremony, the kagami-mochi are cut and given to the visitors. | ||
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access
Get off at Iwatsuka sta. on the Higashiyama subway line.
Walk to the West approximately 1200m (15 min)
or
Get off at subway Iwatsuka sta.
Then get on a bus bound for Todaso or Hattori.
Get off at Iwatsuka-Hondori Go-chome bus stop.
map
inquiries
Shichisho-sha
7 Aza-Kamikoji, Iwatsuka-cho, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya
TEL: 052-412-3671
FAX: 052-412-0538
