[What day is it today? | Tohoku Edition] What day is March 16th?

16th Dumpling Day

Juroku (Juroku/Juro) Dango Day is a traditional event deeply connected to the belief in the mountain gods and rice field gods. It is a nationwide custom to welcome the gods by offering 16 dango, but it is said to be particularly deeply rooted in the Tohoku and Hokuriku regions.

​​Kamikyorai (gods coming and going) is at the heart of the festival, which originates from an ancient Japanese legend of the coming and going of the seasons, in which mountain gods descend to the villages in spring to become rice field gods and then return to the mountains in autumn. March 16th, known as Juroku Dango, is the day to welcome the gods, and November 16th is the day to send them off, and there is a custom of using the sound of pounding rice cakes to inform the gods of the time of their departure.

Incidentally, in the idea of ​​the coming and going of gods, gods who are invited by oneself "inviting gods ," and gods who come on their own are "visiting gods ." For this reason, the god of "Juroku Dango" is a "inviting god," and the Namahage of Oga, Akita, and others are "visiting gods."

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