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Digital Photo Gallery 　”Poem of Mts.YATSUGADAKE”　　ＯＮＢＡＳＨＩＲＡ　Ｓｐｅｃｉａｌ

Local Onbashira Festival  �A
Trip of The Sacred　ｈuge logs of small shrine in Suwa District

［Faces of The Onbashira］

People who enjoyed the Onbashira Festival 

［In the street］

Shutter chance　Young mother is busy taking picture of her baby. The chance will not come
7 years if she miss this minute. (  Okkoto, Fujimi town. Sep.23 ) 

Drink wine here! Take a snack please! Citizens and corporations serve drinks and 
snacks free to every people around the area. They served  home-made traditional foods.
( Suwa city, Sep. 25 )

Traditional Events Daimyo's procession was shown up by the heritage successors in Fumonji Dist.
( Shiga, Suwa city, Sep. 12 )

Costume parade　At the day of Tsushima shrine,  many groups appeared curiously dressed 
 at every street corner of Takagi Dist. Shimosuwa town. ( Oct. 10 )

［Pulling Onbashira upward］

Use Pulley &  wire Because the column must go up to Ashinaga shrine which is at the mountain top,
they pulled lope powerfully downward. Steep slope is 40 degree, and over 200 meters long.
( Siga, Suwa city, Sep. 12 )

Mounted by full villager　The big pine tree is used for the 1st column of Tsushima shrine.
This tree,13m long, Weight 2ton, was the almost biggest one of the local Onbashira. The last run 
was done after sunset. ( Takagi, Shimosuwa town. Oct. 10 )

Roundabout rout As the front approach to Kumano shrine were narrow stone steps, so they
had to  pass through the woods. ( Higashi Yamada, Shimosuwa town. Oct.23 )

［Standing Up in rain］

The 2nd of Ohoshi　It was a specially heavy rainy weather.( Nakamura, Chino city. Sep. 5 )

The 1st of Yatsurugi　Small square of shrine has no space for observer,4 big pine columns
were lied here and there, many technicians were working hard to build up Onbashira. It was rainy all day long.
( Owada, Suwa city, Sep. 27 )

The 1st of Takamori-suwa　It's very new, we can read "Festival" in Japanese letters on board,
and see a priest with colorful parasol. It was a chilly cold, rainy day. ( Sakai, Fujimi town. Oct. 3 )

［Kiyari Singer］

Children　Children's party sang a kiyari song cheerfully in front of stores or corporations 
along the street. ( Suwa city. Sep. 25 )

Kids, Adults, Oldman Three generations are met here to celebrate the Onbashira festival.
It is  said in Japan to do something together with 3 generations bring good fortune.
( Kumano shrine, Shimosuwa town. Oct.23 )

Joyful Onbashira　Look at this beautifully pictured Onbashira festival ! This is a moment
when picturesque young guys on the tree replaying to the Kiyari  song.Kiyari singers stand on 
the right side handling  large Onbe = sacred flag. ( Tsushima shrine, Shimosuwa town.Oct. 11)

  ◇To Home Page 　　                　◇To Kamisha-Yamadashi 
       ◇To Kamisha-Kawagoshi          ◇To  Shimosha-Yamadashi　
 　◇To Kamisha- Satobiki 　　  　　◇To 98'Onbashira Fest.     
     ◇To Shimosha-Kiotoshi 　　　　 ◇Prelude to The Festival 
◇To Shimosha- Satobiki          ◇ To Japanese edition   
◇To Kamisha-Kiotoshi              ◇To Local Onbashira Fest.�@

"The essence of Onbashira is in local". I heard such words many time. It's true.
Villagers are anxious about their most familiar shrine. Each local shrine chooses 
and decides appropriate trees for their Onbashira.   The tree will be fir tree or 
sometimes larch tree or red pine.    The basic festival events are the same as 
 Suwa Grand Shrine :  �@　Cutting tree down �A Carrying out from the mountain 
�B Preparation for the parade �C Marching in their home town �D Building up as 
the sacred column of their shrine.  To cheer the atmosphere, Kiyari songs are 
always needed.  Those 5 events are always important  But each shrine has its
 specialties. The location of the shrine , sometimes it is on the top of steep mountain,
 sometimes  in the middle of town.  When the number of villagers are very few, they 
choose smaller tree.  So considering their own condition well, they plan their best 
performance. How to build up Onbashira and at the same time how to enjoy themselves.
 At the case of  local small shrine, all the members are friends and families. It means
 very helpful and familiar each other.  All the people are serving for the community. 
I'm very  much  satisfied  with  such  friendly  service  of  foods  and  drinks.  
The Suwa district was once a station village from Edo to Kyoto, and then the area 
became busy with thread making factories. After the war, the town change its face
 to be  a  visiting  spot  with  scenery of  natural  beauty.  We can  enjoy Japanese 
beautiful  sceneries  through  four  seasons.   Now  precision machinery industries, 
like  Watch,  Camera,  and  Computer  are  the  area's  main  products. 
 I  am  looking  forward  to  seeing  the  next  Onbashira,  in  2010.

Ver.2.0          May 1,　2005

Copy Right     A.hattori  2005

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