In the latter part of September, I went to the The Grand Festival of Kure Hachimangu Shrine in Nakatosa Town, which has been held in Kochi since the 16th century. It started at around 2:00am. A few hours before the festival was scheduled to go on, to everyone’s chagrin it began to rain heavily. I was not prepared and my clothes quickly became sopping wet. It didn’t let up the whole night and by the end I was soaked to my skin. But that didn’t stop me or anyone else from enjoying ourselves. The acme of the festival is a magnolious, though ponderous procession called “Omikoku-san” where a cavalcade of local men tromp through the night carrying a 6-meter-high torch weighing 907 kilograms. They walk from the outskirts of the village to Kure Hachimangu Shrine, which is around four kilometers away. A group walking up front carries the brunt of the torch’s weight, while a group behind them, using bamboo sticks, supports the rest and keeps the torch balanced and upright. I was amidst the latter group. I helped schlep the torch most of the way there. It was heavy and there were innumerable times it nearly tipped over, but eventually we made it to the shrine. It was about 4:30am when we accomplished it. I begrimed my best-loved pair of shoes and scorched myself a few times, but it was a great experience!
9月下旬に、中土佐町の久礼八幡宮大祭に行ってきました。この祭りは、戦国時代からずっと続いているそうです。残念なことに祭りが始まる午前2時前大雨になり、雨は最後まで降り止みませんでした。 私も、祭りの参加者全員ずぶ濡れになり、体の芯まで冷えきってしまいましたが、それでも楽しい時間を過ごしました。この祭りの一番の目玉は御神穀さんです。 御神穀さんとは、地元の男性たちが村の外れから久礼八幡宮までの約4km、907kgもある大松明を担ぎながら練り歩く行列のこと。 大松明がひっくり返らない様にと大松明を担えている男性の後ろを竹で何人もの男性が支えます。 私ももちろん参加し、4kmの道のりをほとんど竹で大松明を支えました。 大松明は道中何度もひっくり返りそうになりましたが、なんとか暮久礼八幡宮に無事到着することが出来ました。 祭りが終わったのはなんと朝4:30頃。 この祭りで私のお気に入りの靴が台無しになり、火傷もしましたが 何にも変えられない素晴らしい経験になりました。翻訳；ジョンソン美生
Festival information and photo:
