諏訪大社下社御柱里曳き
The Onbashira Festival is a ceremonial event held every seven years at Suwa Taisha, during the years of the tiger and monkey according to the Chinese zodiac.
There are four Suwa Taisha shrines in the Suwa region: Kamisha Hongu in Suwa City, Kamisha Maemiya in Chino City, Shimosha Akimiya, and Shimosha Harumiya in Shimosuwa Town.
Onbashira are erected at the four corners of each Suwa Taisha as a yorishiro (sacred pillar) for the gods. In the old days, they even rebuilt the shrine buildings.
The "Yamadashi" involves transporting large fir trees from the mountains, and the "Satobiki" involves hauling and erecting the pillars at each Suwa Taisha. Both "Yamadashi" and "Satobiki" take three days each.
Over 12 days in total for Kamisha and Shimosha, eight pillars are erected.
In early May, the hauling of the Onbashira for the Satobiki at Suwa Taisha takes place.
A few days earlier, the Satobiki and erection of the Onbashira for Kamisha were carried out, leaving the remaining eight Onbashira for Shimosha's Akimiya and Harumiya.
Shortly after 7 a.m., the Shimen-kake ritual is performed, and the hauling resumes from where the logs had been stored after the April Ki-otoshi (log drop).
The hauling for Shimosha involves all eight Onbashira passing through Harumiya's precincts.
Starting with the first Onbashira of Harumiya, followed by the second, third, and fourth Onbashira, and then the four Onbashira of Akimiya.
The entrance to Harumiya's precincts is on a slope, so the first and second Onbashira of Harumiya and the four Onbashira of Akimiya perform the Ki-otoshi from this slope.
Hauled by the parishioners, the Onbashira descends the slope.
Centering on the parishioners riding the Onbashira, the haulers and parishioners raise a cheer.
The first pillar is positioned to the right of the shrine building.
Since it is in the opposite direction of the progress of the Onbashira, a nearly 180-degree turn is made after the Ki-otoshi is completed.
The sight of a massive tree over 1 meter in diameter being moved by the collective effort of many people is impressive.
The sound of the dragging and the calls are very powerful.
After the direction is changed, the first pillar, now lying in front of the shrine building, undergoes a ritual called Kanmuri-otoshi, where the tip is shaped.
Since it is all done by hand, it takes 2-3 hours with people taking turns swinging the axe.
During this time, the second Onbashira descends the front slope, while the third and fourth Onbashira descend the back slope.
The climax of the Satobiki is the raising of the Onbashira.
Local parishioners, many of whom are experienced in construction, ride atop the Onbashira as it is gradually raised.
The scene of the Onbashira raising conveyed the brilliance and dedication of the participants in the Onbashira Festival.
It is said that during the war, the Onbashira Festival continued despite orders to stop from the military, because it was considered a matter of life and death.
Although there were dangerous moments throughout the Onbashira Festival, safety measures by the organizers were observed.
There was a strong sense of striving to carry out the festival as safely as possible while fulfilling the Onbashira tradition.
However, it was noticeable that the increasing number of tourists created a gap between the feelings of the festival participants and the spectators, which was somewhat regrettable.