Kokusekiji Temple Somin Festival: The End of Over 1,000 Years of History | 2024 Local Report [Iwate Prefecture]

The Kokusekiji Somin Festival will be the last one this year, bringing to a close a history of over 1,000 years. It has been talked about in various places for a long time, but I couldn't miss the end without having seen it for myself! So I went to the site to burn it into my memory!

What is the Somin Festival?

The Sominsai Festival, which is held mainly in the southern part of Iwate Prefecture to pray for good harvests and good health, is one of Iwate Prefecture's representative traditional cultures and was selected by the Agency for Cultural Affairs in 1995 as an "intangible folk cultural asset that should be recorded and other measures taken."

the Kokusekiji Somin Festival, which is held from the 7th of the lunar New Year at Mt. Myoken Kokusekiji Temple in Mizusawa, Oshu City, and continues through the night , is a festival with a history of over 1,000 years, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is the most famous Somin festival.

Details are summarized in the article below

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

Kokusekiji Somin Festival, one of Japan's three most unusual festivals, lasts from late into the night until the morning (Iwate Prefecture)

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/6530

Among the many winter festivals in Tohoku, the Kokusekiji Somin Festival, held at Mt. Myoken's Kokusekiji Temple in Mizusawa, Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, stands out as one of the most unique and historic festivals. The Kokusekiji Somin Festival has a long history, spanning over 1,000 years. The Somin Festival is a naked festival that is passed down throughout Japan, primarily in Iwate Prefecture. It is said that the god Muto, traveling south from the North Sea, transformed into a human and asked two brothers, the poor Somin Shorai and the wealthy Kotan, for a night's lodging. Kotan refused, and Somin Shorai kindly let the travelers stay, feeding them on a meal of millet.

read more

Kokusekiji Temple Somin Festival in 2024

The final Somin Festival was held on Saturday, February 17th, 2024 (the 8th day of the Lunar New Year), from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM, a significant change from the usual overnight event. This may be because, as it was the last festival, many visitors were expected. If it had been held at the usual time (10:00 PM to dawn), viewers would have had to be prepared for a lot of excitement

Arrive early and explore Kuroishiji Temple during the day

The temporary parking lot only had a capacity of about 200 cars, so we decided to arrive at the site around 1:00 p.m. on the day and wait until the festival started

By this time, many media representatives were already busily making preparations in various places within the temple grounds. This really brought home to me the high level of attention that this was the "final night"

"naked pilgrimage" takes place at the beginning of the festival, performs water purification rituals. The river has been dammed to make it deeper so that there is enough water for the purification ritual. On the opposite bank, people are already reserving spots for their cameras.

is where the climax of the festival the "Sumin Bag Battle," takes place. A powerful and solemn atmosphere permeates the air. At the time, I never imagined that such a thing would happen here.

The details of the events for the day were also posted on the wall. It seemed that the "Hitaki Nobori" ceremony, in which people climb onto a bonfire (Saitonogoma , would not be held.

There are straw huts set up all over the temple grounds for participants to change clothes and rest in. They are very simple huts, but even here you can feel the history and tradition that has been passed down for a long time

As I was strolling around the temple grounds, a local called out to me, "I'm serving you some medicinal baths, so please have a drink," and I decided to have some. They were boiling water with medicinal herbs in it in what appeared to be a temple quarters next to the main hall. It was mostly tasteless, but I felt a sense of blessing in the drink

At 6pm, the Somin Festival finally begins!

After our daytime stroll, we returned to the car and waited until the time came. Just before 6pm, we headed back to the temple grounds and set up camp near the spot where the highlight of the naked pilgrimage, the water purification ritual in the Yamauchi River, takes place

After a while, a collective shout echoes from the main hall

The cries of "Jasso!" grew closer and closer, and soon a procession of naked pilgrims carrying lanterns came down the stairs toward the river

As I was admiring the endless string of lantern lights, the group at the front suddenly started their water purification ritual. It was freezing just watching, but I didn't see a single person who looked cold. Instead, everyone was smiling and seemed to be having a great time

A long shot of the Mizuguri venue. On the other side of the river, there were an incredible number of media representatives and cameras

Participants in the naked pilgrimage visit the Yakushi-do and Myoken-do halls and undergo water purification rituals multiple times. Throughout the process, shouts of "Jasso!" echo throughout the temple grounds

Just after 7pm, the bell rings and the Betto climb begins

At the signal of the bell ringing, the head priest and the representative carrying the Sumin bag, accompanied by guardians and exorcists, ascend to the inner sanctuary of the Yakushido Hall accompanied by conch shells and drums, and perform a goma offering ceremony

It seems that betto refers to the head priest of Kokuseki-ji Temple

Unable to bear the fatigue, I decided to eat and rest

At this point, we had been at Kokusekiji for about 6-7 hours, including waiting time. We decided to have dinner and take a short break

Located on the approach to the temple grounds, the restaurant was called "Somin Shokudo" and sold simple snacks and drinks

It may be rude to say that it is poorly constructed, but the ceiling inside is very low and the ground is uneven, making it difficult to even line up

However, the atmosphere was exceptional, with the bright light of the bare bulbs, the conversations and laughter of the local people chatting happily, and the uplifting atmosphere of the festival creating an indescribable, wonderful space

While waiting for your order, you can see what appears to be a bonfire from a gap in the straw wall

I ordered tempura soba. It was quite bland, but it may have been because participants in the Somin Festival apparently refrain from eating meat, eggs, or strong-smelling vegetables

After a short break, I tried to return to the main hall again..

As it was the last festival, the number of visitors was incredible. "There are more people than we expected," local elders were saying in the restaurant.

If you left the site for a short while, you had no idea what was going on and could not return to the same place. All you could see was the demon flags that

After our break, when we visited the main hall again in time for the battle for the Sumin bag, the scene was as follows

It is now difficult to get close to the main hall

Still, I could sense the fierce battle unfolding on the other side of the crowd. I decided to watch quietly as this year's winner was decided

The climax of the event was when men fighting over the bag poured out of the main hall onto the grounds. It was a dangerous situation with people crowding up to the steps leading to the temple, but somehow it was completed without any accidents

summary

This year marks the end of the Kokusekiji Somin Festival, which has a history of over 1,000 years. It was a wonderful experience to be able to witness this moment of history firsthand

However, there are already moves to revive the festival in the local area. While it will not be easy to solve the problems of a lack of people to carry on the tradition and a lack of successors, we hope to one day hear the good news that the Kokusekiji Somin Festival is back!

In Iwate Prefecture, there are also Somin Festivals that have been passed down for a long time in other regions, and there are also Somin Festivals that have been revived in recent years, so if you're interested, be sure to check it out!

Kokusekiji Temple <Information>

• Name: Tendai Sect Myokensan Kokusekiji Temple
• Address: 17 Yamauchi, Mizusawa Kuroishicho, Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, 023-0101
• Phone number: 0197-26-4168
• Official URL: https://www.kokusekiji.jp/

Google Map

Aoiwa

Traveling around the Tohoku region, I enjoy drinking delicious sake and exploring the local history, traditions, and customs. I write articles based on my interests. I'm currently interested in folk performing arts, local toys, and folk beliefs