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...
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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When I visit a city known as a castle town, in addition to the castle itself, I'm always drawn to visiting the burial grounds and family temples of the castle lord's family. While you might imagine that these family burial grounds are all concentrated in one place, there are actually several...
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In Towa-cho, Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture, there is a shrine that enshrines a massive rock as its sacred object, and also worships a local pioneering deity, a practice not seen in other regions. Incidentally, the title "animism" refers to the worship of non-human beings...
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Located in the northeastern part of Akita Prefecture, bordering Aomori and Iwate prefectures, Ohirumemuchi Shrine is located in the Hachimantai district of Kazuno City. Every year on January 2nd, the shrine is dedicated to the important intangible cultural properties designated by the national government and UNESCO...
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Located in the northeastern part of Akita Prefecture, bordering Aomori and Iwate prefectures, Ohirumemuchi Shrine is located in the Hachimantai district of Kazuno City. Every year on January 2nd, the shrine is dedicated to the important intangible cultural properties designated by the national government and UNESCO...
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Tono City in Iwate Prefecture is famous as a land of folklore. It is famous for being a place where many legends, such as kappa and zashiki warashi, still live on to this day. One of the legends passed down in Tono is the "Legend of the Three Mountains of Tono and the Three Goddesses.".
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Bandai Town, Yama District, Fukushima Prefecture, is located northeast of Aizuwakamatsu City, at the southern foot of Mount Bandai. Here, there is a temple called Enichiji, which once flourished as a hub of Buddhist culture in the Aizu region.
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Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture. This area is famous as the birthplace of Ono no Komachi and the birthplace of Inaniwa udon. However, Iwasaki Hachiman Shrine in Yuzawa City is home to a "doll Dosojin," a guardian deity made from natural objects...
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