The mysterious ancient god "Arahabaki"... This enigmatic deity is said to have been worshipped mainly in the Tohoku and Kanto regions, but even today, the most famous shrine bearing its name is the "Arahabaki" located in Tagajo City, Miyagi Prefecture...
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Despite its small size, the shrine exudes an intense presence, and the sight of countless red cloths tied around it is bizarre. This is Une-Tori, an ancient place of worship that also appears in Kunio Yanagita's "Tono Monogatari Shūi" (Supplementary Tales of Tono) in Tono City, Iwate Prefecture...
A large doll, about 4 meters tall. In Tamura City, Fukushima Prefecture, there is a god known as "O-ningyo-sama" (Doll God), a guardian deity that has been passed down for generations. It is characterized by its piercing gaze and outstretched sword, and is believed to ward off disease and disaster from the region...
What is an Onakama? An "Onakama" is a folk shaman (fugeki) who performs spiritual mediumship, incantations, and divination, primarily in the Mogami and Murayama regions of Yamagata Prefecture. They are similar to Itako and Mikosama in other parts of the Tohoku region...
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Hinoemata Village is located in the southwesternmost part of Fukushima Prefecture. It is situated in the mountainous region between Mount Hiuchigatake, Mount Aizu-Komagatake, and Mount Taishakusan, the highest peaks in the Tohoku region...
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Examples of Itako Spells: As mentioned earlier, Itako chant various incantations, or spells, when performing shamanistic rituals such as spirit mediumship. But what exactly are these incantations like...?.
The Training Process to Become an Itako We've looked at examples of the shamanistic practices performed by Itako, but what kind of training is necessary to become an Itako? Currently, new Itako...
Introduction While reverence for intangible things like "prayer" and "faith" is still valued today, in the past in Japan, these were even more closely intertwined with daily life. That...
Mishima Town, Onuma District, Fukushima Prefecture. This municipality is located in a region commonly known as Oku-Aizu, very close to the border with Niigata Prefecture. Here, you can find one of the 12 well-known types of kokeshi dolls...
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What is Kasedori? Kasedori is a folk event held annually on February 11th in Kaminoyama City, Yamagata Prefecture. Originally a "visitation ceremony for the New Year's deity," it was held during the Little New Year (although there are various theories, it is generally considered to be from January 14th to 1...).
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