The Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival, famous for Japan's largest bridal procession [Minamiaizu Town, Fukushima Prefecture]

the "Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival,"was once a bustling post town on the Shimotsuke Kaido (Aizu-Nishi Kaido), a road connecting Nikko to Aizu-Wakamatsu, the center of the Aizu region.

Currently, Minamiaizu Town was formed in 2006 by the merger of four towns and villages: Tajima Town, Tateiwa Village, Inan Village, and Nangou Village, and the town hall is located in Tajima

The name Tajima is said to originate from a mythical tale in which a god emerged from a small island in the rice fields of the area and changed the name of the town, which had previously been called Hinomachi, to "Tajima." The people called this god"Tadeuga Daimyojin"the Tajima guardian shrine,"Tadeuga Shrine."enshrined him as the principal deity of

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The Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival began in the early Kamakura period

The Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival is said to have begun during the Kamakura period when Naganuma Munemasa, who was given Minamiaizu as his territory by Minamoto no Yoritomo, performed a ritual of Gion faith at Tadeuga Shrine to ward off epidemics

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Gion faith spread around Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto

"Gion faith"is a belief that originated in Kyoto during the Heian period, where people prayed to the gods to ward off epidemics that frequently swept through the city. It was believed that by enshrining Susanoo-no-Mikoto, who had committed sins and been banished to Ne-no-kuni (the underworld, a distant land), the gods would take the epidemics away with them.

The center of this faith is Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, also known as Gion Shrine, which enshrines Susanoo as its main deity. During the period of syncretism between Shinto and Buddhism, when Shinto and Buddhism coexisted in the same shrines and temples, Gozu Tenno, the guardian deity of Gion Shoja (an Indian temple that Buddha is said to have frequented) enshrined at Yasaka Shrine (temple name: Kanjin-in), was also believed to have the same ability to calm epidemics as Susanoo

The ritual to quell the epidemic was called Goryoe, and it is said that this developed into the Gion Festival. Susanoo and the Indian god Gozu Tenno eventually came to be worshipped as the same god, and Gozu Tenno is still the deity worshipped at the Gion Festival today

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Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival, organized by a party group of parishioners

The Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival took on its current form during the Edo period, when it began to be held as a festival based on the Gion Festival at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto

The Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival is held every year for three days on July 22nd, 23rd, and 24th as a joint annual festival of Tadeuga Shrine and Kumano Shrine, which is co-located with Tadeuga Shrine and enshrines Susanoo-no-Mikoto as its main deity

Shrine festivals are generally conducted by the chief priest, but the Tajima Gion Festival is not run by the chief priest, but by the parishioners. The parishioners form groups called "Otoya" and take turns running the festival each year. There are currently nine groups

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The free sake is brewed at the shrine

The party house on duty for that year begins preparations in January of the festival year. Over the course of more than six months leading up to the festival day on July 22nd, various rituals such as purification ceremonies are performed, and the shimenawa ropes, tools, household altars, and sacred bridges (bridges on which the gods pass) are set up

Making special sacred sake (omikki) is also an important job of the party house

Currently, sake brewing requires a national license, but in the case of the Aizu Tajima Gion Festival, the Tadeuga Shrine has been granted a sake brewing license since the Meiji era, and the sakeKokken Shuzo, a sake.

The sake produced is a cloudy, white, unfiltered sake, commonly known as "doburoku," made simply by adding koji to steamed rice and allowing it to ferment. This sake is served not only to festival participants but also to spectators, which is why the Aizu Tajima Gion Festival is"Doburoku Festival."also known as the

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Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival will be held for three days from July 22nd

Day 1 (July 22nd)

"Children's Kabuki" and a large float paraded around the town

The Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival begins at 10:00 a.m. on July 22nd, when all members of the Otoya-gumi group visit Tadeuga Shrine/Kumano Shrine dressed in formal Edo period attire called hakama and kamishimo

From 1pm, the "Children's Kabuki Full Performance" will begin on the "Oyatai." The Oyatai are floats (floats) with stages large enough for Kabuki performances, and there are four of them. Over the two days of the 22nd and 23rd, in the afternoon and evening, each float will perform four different plays

The performers in the Kabuki are, of course, local children, who practice daily to be fully prepared for the festival

When there are no Kabuki performances, the large floats are carried by children and pulled around the town (float operation)

Day 2 (July 23)

The highlight of the second day is Japan's largest bridal procession

of the Aizu Tajima Gion Festival, the "Nanahokai Procession," will take place starting at 7:50 a.m.eventThe "Nanahokai Procession" is a procession in which people pray for the eradication of disease and a bountiful harvest by offering seven offerings to Gozu Tenno (Susanoo-no-Mikoto). More than 100 relatives and retainers of the Otoya group march towards the shrine.

The offering vessels are carried by unmarried women in formal attire, and after the seven vessels, about 30 women dressed as Edo period brides, with their hair tied in a Bunkin Takashimada bun and covered with a white cloth called a tsunokakushi, and wearing long-sleeved kimono, join the procession

The procession of young women, dressed in particularly splendid attire, is"Japan's No. 1 bridal procession" andattracts many spectators.

In principle, only members of the on-duty party group can participate in the bridal procession, but if there are not enough people, they will be recruited from the general public, including from outside the prefecture

Applications begin in early June, but you will need to check with the Otoya that year to see if they are accepting applications. You can find out which Otoya is on duty at the Minamiaizu Town Tourism and Products Association. Wigs, kimonos, obi, etc. are rented, and makeup and dressing are done at a beauty salon in town

The cost of rental, makeup and dressing will be around 65,000 yen, but don't worry, Minamiaizu Town will provide a subsidy of up to 60,000 yen

(Outline of the grant of bride subsidies for the Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival Seven-Line Parade Bride in Minamiaizu Town, Notice No. 32, March 20, 2006) *Regulations may be subject to change, so please check with Minamiaizu Town

A god rides on a portable shrine to ward off plague

Starting at 10:00 a.m. on July 23rd, the gods who have received offerings (kumotsu) in seven-parade vessels will ride in a portable shrine (mikoshi) and parade around the town in gratitude, exorcising disease and praying for a bountiful harvest (mikoshi togyo)

There are two mikoshi, one for Tadeuga Shrine and one for Kumano Shrine, and they are led by a procession of several dozen people dressed in costumes for various roles. The costumes worn by the women are particularly gorgeous. At the Otabisho (resting place for the mikoshi), people stomp their toes (a roppo - an exaggerated walking style used in Kabuki) and loudly call out, "Let's get the mikoshi ready!"

This portable shrine procession is also a highlight unique to the Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival

Day 3 (July 24th)

The Kagura dance is dedicated and the festival curtain falls

On July 24th, the festival will close at 1pm with the performance of the traditional "Dadaiokagura" in the Kagura hall shared by "Tadeuga Shrine" and "Kumano Shrine."

The Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival is held every year from July 22nd for three days and is counted as one of Japan's three major Gion festivals. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public events such as the Shichigyōki Procession were canceled from 2020 to 2022. We look forward to seeing them again in 2023 and beyond

The role of the Otoya in the Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival, which begins in January and continues until the end of the festival, has been designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan as the "Tajima Gion Festival Otoya Event."

Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival <Information>

• Event period: July 22nd to July 24th
• Location: Tajimacho, Minamiaizu Town, Fukushima Prefecture
• For inquiries, please contact Minamiaizu Town Tourism Association
• Phone number: 0241-62-3000
• URL:Minamiaizu Town Tourism Association

Minamiaizu Town Aizu-Tajima Gion Festival Seven-Line Procession Bride Subsidy Guidelines

• URL:Guidelines for the Grant of Bride Subsidies

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