Divine Pole Festival of The Great Shrines of Suwa

（諏訪大社の御柱祭）

The festival once in 7 years

Suwa district, in the middle of the Japanese main island, is the land of The Great Shrines of Suwa, the parent shrines of some 15 thousand Suwa shrines all over Japan. Suwa is where we have our mountain cottage at the foot of Mt. Yatsugatake. In addition to the regular once-a-year festival, the Great Shrines hold famous 12 centuries old Divine Pole Festival once in 7 years.

今年は諏訪大社の御柱祭の年です。

Some people say "once in 7 years" and others say "once in 6 years". Here is the truth. Everything is different in the Orient even in the way to count the number of years. The traditional way is to count the years as the 1st year, the 2nd year and so forth. Suppose that a baby is born on December 31. Next day, the baby is 1 day old according to the Western way of counting. But in the traditional Oriental way, the baby is "2 years old" on January 1 because the baby has entered into the 2nd year. This used to be the official way of counting the age in Japan only until half a century ago when Japan was Americanized and all Japanese people found themselves from one to two years younger. Likewise, the festival is to be held in the 7th year, and therefore once in 7 years in the Oriental way, but once in 6 years in the Western way or mathematical way of counting. Actually, it is held in the years of "tiger" and "monkey". The year 1998 is the year of tiger.

数えで7年に一度、満で6年に一度、寅年と申年に行われるお祭です。

Divine poles

Before Buddhism brought to Japan in the 6th century a high technology to build a shrine or a house with poles erected on stone bases, all architecture in Japan had poles sticked into the ground. Such poles decay quickly. While Buddhism temples last for centuries, traditional Japanese Shintoism shrines are durable only for a decade or two. Therefore, all old Shintoism shrines are regularly re-built. For instance, the highest ranked Great Shrine of Ise is re-built once in 20 years.

石の土台の上に家を建てるというハイテクが仏教と共に伝来する前は、柱を土に埋めていたため、家はすぐ建て直す必要がありました。その伝統で古い神社のお社は定期的に建て直す式年造営が行われています。

The Great Shrines of Suwa are re-built once in 6 years. There are dual shrines in the premises, and the god resides in the newer shrine and the older is re-built. The holy ground of a Suwa shrine is marked by poles at the four corners. These Divine Poles are also replaced once in 6 years.

In the Nagano Olympic Games, in the opening ceremony, 8 divine poles were erected to purify the main stadium.

伊勢神宮は20年に一度建て直しますが、諏訪大社は6年に一度です。同時に神域の四隅に立てた御柱も交換するのですが、その方が祭の主役になりました。オリンピックの開会式にも登場したほどです。

Sixteen poles for four Shrines

The Great Shrines of Suwa consist of 4 shrines regarded as one entity, 2 south of the Lake Suwa and 2 north of the Lake. The 2 south shrines are called "Upper Shrines" because the location is nearer to the capital, or because rivers flow into the lake near there, and the north shrines near the outlet of the lake are called "Lower Shrines".

Therefore, 16 poles are necessary to mark 4 corners of 4 Shrines. 16 groups of communities in Suwa are responsible for the poles, from felling fir trees in March (Upper) or in the previous year (Lower), dragging them by ropes from the mountain ("mountain drag") in April to dragging to the Shrines ("town drag") and erecting in May. The whole processes are Divine Pole Festival.

The Upper and Lower Shrines take fir logs from different mountains. Traditions and the dragging routes are also different. However, the Upper Shrine is run out of the big fir trees in its mountain, and in 1998 for the first time in its history of 12 centuries, all 16 logs were felled in the same mountain for the Lower Shrine. 8 logs were trucked to the mountain for the Upper Shrines. This picture shows the biggest 1st pole for the Main Shrine of the Upper Shrines, resting on March 29 in the roadside waiting for the Festival.

諏訪大社上社の御柱（おんばしら）を切り出す山に樅の大木が払底したので、1998年は初めて下社用の山から切り出されました。一番大きな本宮一の柱が3月末に道路脇に用意されました。
Mountain drag for the Upper Shrines

The mountain drag for the Upper Shrines was held on April 3, 4 and 5, 1998.

The most noticeable difference of the poles for the Upper Shrines is that they have horns at the heads and tails, on which people ride and shout to urge dragging.

Two highlights along the course are "Hill slide" and "Crossing the river". The log with horns are slid down the hill of about 30 meters with full of people on the log and horns.

上社の山曳きの木落しは30mほどでさほど危険ではありません。メドデコという角を前後に付け、一杯に人が乗った状態で引き摺り下ろします。

Another highlight is "Crossing the river". There were no bridges 12 centuries ago, therefore logs had to cross the water. This tradition is observed to this date. The water from snow capped mountains is still very cold in early April.

雪解けの冷たい宮川を渡ります。
Mountain Drag for the Lower Shrines

The mountain drag for the Lower Shrines was held on April 10, 11 and 12, 1998. There is no horn for the logs for the Lower Shrines. The highlight is "Hill slide" down the 100 m steep slope. Some people are given the honor as a prize to ride on the log when it slides down. Those who are not given this honor wait for the log at the slope and run to the sliding log to ride on it. They are shaken off, thrown down and often ridden over by the log. There was one casualty in 1992, but a news reporter told that there was no casualty this time in 1998.

A man was talking in the train. His wife forbid him to ride on the log and he promised. But his wife saw her husband riding on the log on television and he was very much scolded.

下社の山曳きのハイライト木落しは100mもの急坂を下るので、大変危険でしばしば死者が出るほどです。
Town drag for the Upper Shrines

The poles were draged in the town to The Upper Shrines on May 3 and 4. Participants got on the horns attached to the poles and shouted to encourage dragging.

Eventually, on May 4 and 5, the poles were erected at the four corners of the Upper Shrines. Horns were removed and participants rode on the pole until it was erected vertically. The mountain in the background is Mt. Yatsugatake.

5月3/4/5日は上社の里曳と曳建てでした。柱の両端にあった角のようなメドデコは外され、頭部のホゾの部分は山型に切り落とされ(冠落し)、底部のホゾはそのまま埋められます。八ヶ岳を背景に前宮一之柱は、神事・冠落しも含めて6時間かけて建ち上がりました。

Town drag for the Lower Shrines

The town drag of the divine poles for the Lower Shrines was held on May 9 - 11. It used to be a men-only festival, but these years the front line girls of the local bank participate shouldering a festival load. Men makes a quarrel for initiatives while policemen are watching.

下社の里曳きは5/9-11でした。諏訪信用金庫のお嬢さんが長持を担ぎます。男達は時々険悪になりますが、警官が睨んでいるせいか手出しはしませんでした。

A participant is too tired, maybe drunken, and resting by the roadside. A woman is participating in drumming.