Akimiya, bustling with shrine-goers, some of whom as you can see in the foreground were belatedly celebrating the 7-5-3 children's ceremony. Notice the two-storey main building flanked by two corridor-like wings, typical of the Suwa style. Ceremonies were going on simultaneously in the two wings.
Nagano in the middle of Japan is fast becoming one of my favourite places. With its mountain scenery, unspoilt landscapes and ancient traditions, what’s not to like? You’ve got to fall for a place where flautists play music for gods in the autumn sunshine….
Flautist at an island shrine outside Harumiya, playing to entertain the kami
High plains drifting –
Snow tops and dreamy mists
Fuji’s sacred mount
From Kyoto it takes three hours by train to Matsumoto, which boasts a charming castle, from where it’s about forty minutes by car to Suwa Lake. it’s enveloped by Suwa city and holiday hotels, but the area is most famous for its ancient shrine, Suwa Taisha.
One in four, and four in one
Uniquely Suwa Taisha consists of four separate shrines. Two of them are at the north-east of the lake, and two of them at the south-east. Each has its own character, and all have four tree trunks acting as markers of their sacred ground. It’s become a characteristic feature of the region’s shrines, as you can see in the picture on the right.
It’s the rituals surrounding these pillars for which the shrine is famous, for every six years huge tree trunks are cut down and transported to the shrine. This includes riding the sacred logs down a muddy hillside in sometimes deadly manner.
The festival was last held in 2010, so the next opportunity will be 2016. The logs plunge down a 100-foot slope at a 35 degree angle, with men straddling them and running alongside. The tradition is thought to be over 1200 years old, and during that time there have been many casualties. (For a video of the chaotic scenes at Onbashira Festival, see here.)
Riding the sacred logs at the Onbashira Festival
Kami bodies
Suwa Taisha’s other distinction is its worship of a holy mountain (shintaizan) as a focus for worship. Only three major shrines still practise this ancient form of worship – Suwa, Omiya and Kanasawa Jinja. In Suwa’s case Mt Moriya serves as the kami-body for the two upper shrines; the two lower shrines worship a sacred tree.
The main kami is Takeminakata, son of Okuninushi (the kami of Izumo). It seems there was a link with the Izumo kingdom in ancient times and tradition has it that Takeminakata opposed the surrender of Izumo to Yamato (at the end of the fourth century?). After losing a duel with a Yamato champion he was driven out to Suwa, and following his death he became associated with a dragon-serpent.
It is said that in winter when the lake freezes over, he leaves his home in the Upper Shrines to visit his bride who is enshrined in the Lower Shrines. As he crosses over, cracks appear in the ice. (In recent years, due to global warming, the lake didn’t freeze over but in early 2012 when it did a ritual was held on the ice. For a report, click here.)
Nature concerns and deer hunting
The two Upper Shrines comprise Honmiya (the main shrine) and Maemiya (smaller and set on a hillside). The Lower Shrines consist of Harumiya (the cutest and most compact) and Akimiya (busy and with striking architecture). The names of the two lower shrines (Spring and Autumn) suggests an agricultural focus, so that as a whole Suwa Taisha covers mountain, lake, tree and rice… fundamental Shinto concerns.
Deer hunting is far from a Shinto concern, yet Suwa Taisha was also known in the past for its encouragement of the practice. At Maemiya is a long hall where 72 deer heads used to be laid out in a yearly festival. Despite the widespread observance of Buddhist precepts forbidding the eating of meat, the shrine issued amulets saying ‘Permission to eat deer’. The custom continued until Meiji times, when nationwide regulations forbade ‘pollution’ from blood. Fish continued to be offered to kami as they could be cooked whole and hence blood was not shed.
Worship at Honmiya
Hot spring water basin, highly welcome in winter
One of the four sacred pillars at Maemiya
Picture of the Onbashira Festival
Manga prayers: entertaining the kami modern style
Bottomless sake ladels to wish for easy birth (so the baby slips through easily!)
Omikuji fortune slips at Akimiya, decoratively displayed
Priestly purification at Akimiya
Harumiya, cutest and most compact of the four Suwa Taisha shrines. Notice the thick shimenawa rice rope in Izumo style, reflecting the shrine's connection with the ancient Izumo kingdom
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Information from the shrine brochure and Joseph Cali’s forthcoming Guide to Shinto Shrines
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