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| photo: courtesy of Toyohashi oni-matsuri |
Demon Festival
Oni Matsuri
Feb. 10-11 (annual)
Akumi-Kambe Shinmeisha (shrine)
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| photo: courtesy of Toyohashi oni-matsuri |
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| photo: courtesy of Toyohashi oni-matsuri | |
The Demon Festival has been carried on since around 940 in the Heian period
(794-1192)
and was designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property
in 1980.
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| masks of Tengu (L), Kuro-oni (C) & Aka-oni (R) |
| photo: courtesy of Toyohashi Onimatsuri |
On the festival eve (Feb.10), it's started with Iwato-no-mai dance.
The heros and heroines of this day are boys and girls.
***
The main event of this festival is called "Aka-oni to Tengu no Karakai /
rivalry between Aka-oni (Red Demon) and Tengu (long-nosed goblin)".
(literal meaning of karakai is raillery, but it's totally rivalry)
The story performed by the red demon and Tengu has come from Japanese mythology.
A destructive god ( Susanoo-no-mikoto = red demon) appeared in Takamagahara
(lit. "high heavenly plain", where gods live)
and destroyed the granaries.
A god of martial arts (Sarutahiko-no-mikoto = Tengu) fought to chasten
and straighten him out.
Then all the gods felt happy and danced kagura.
People innovated dengaku performances, which soaked up this story, to a Shinto ritual festival,
and to pray for a rich harvest and prosperity.
Aka-oni walks zigzag (Zigzag walking symblizes lightning. Lightning is
caused by Oni on a cloud by the Japanese folk tales)
***
| date | time | details | |
| Feb. 10th Eve performed mainly by children |
8:30- | *Ao-oni (blue demon) is lustrated. | |
| 10:00- | *Iwato-no-mai (dance) by boys and girls. Ao-oni (blue demon) also join the dance. *Scattering tankiri-ame candies by Blue Demon to drive out evil spirits *Ao-oni (blue demon) visits specific houses in the town.<photo> |
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| 13:00- | *Isuzu Kagura | ||
| 15:00- | *Shinto ritual called Hohei-sai |
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| 15:30- | *Scattering tankiri-ame candies by members of Akumi-Kambe-Shinmeisha suppoters association to drive out evil spirits. <photo> |
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| 16:00- | *Iwato-dance members and Ao-oni (blue demon) visits Dango-gu Shrine with
Shinto priests. |
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| 18:00- | *Ao-oni (blue demon) returns to the Akumi-Shinmeish Shrine. | ||
| 19:00- 21:00 |
*Festival Eve ceremony : Urayasu no mai (very popular kagura) | ||
| Feb. 11th | 8:30- | *O-Hinode kagura *Ko-oni (demonlet) is lustrated. |
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| 10:00- | *annual festival *Urayasu no mai (kagura) |
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| 10:50- | *Scattering tankiri-ame candies by members of Akumi-Kambe-Shinmeisha suppoters association to drive out evil spirits |
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| 11:10- | *Aka-oni (Red Demon), Tengu, Kuro-oni (Black Demon) and Shitenji are lustrated.
<photo> *Offerings are also lustrated. |
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| 11:50- | *Demonlet comes in the main shrine *Scattering tankiri-ame candies by Demonlet to drive out evil spirits *Dengaku-narashi (in front of the Kessaiden building) |
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| 12:30- | *Shinto ritual *Urayasu-no-mai kagura dance, Isuzu-kagura, |
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| 13:10- | *Scattering tankiri-ame candies by members of Akumi-Kambe-Shinmeisha suppoters association to drive out evil spirits |
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| 13:20- | *Omato no shinji (Shinto ritual to wing twelve arrows at the mark) *Kuro-oni (black demon) comes to the shrine. |
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| 14:00- | *"Rivalry between Aka-oni (red demon) and Tengu"/ "Aka-oni to Tengu no Karakai" Around 15:15: Climax (Akaoni runs away with scattering tankiri-ame candies) *Shitenji-dengaku, Pontenzara, etc. |
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| 15:40- | *On-tamahiki no toshiuranai | ||
| 16:00- | *The enshrined god moved to Dango-gu Shrine temmporaly. | ||
| 16:10- | *Drumming performance in front of the main shrine. | ||
| 17:30- | *The enshrined god comes back home shrine. | ||
| 19:00 | *Demonlet comes back to the Akumi-Shinmeish Shrine. | ||
| 22:00 | *Red Demon and Tengu comes back to the Akumi-Shinmeish Shrine. |
| Omiki-biraki 10:00- |
All the members of Aka-oni (red demon) group get together at Nakaseko-cho
community center and hold an openin ceremony. Omiki means sake(rice wine) and biraki means to open. <photo > |
| procession of Aka-oni (red demon) group 10:30- |
They carry offerings, tankiri-ame candies, Aka-oni costume and shumoku with band music. <photo> |
| wearing costumes | The costume of Red Demon weights more than 20kg.. Tengu also wears very heavy armor. <photo> |
| Keman | The white rope decoration on the demon is called keman. |
