I went to the Baby’s Dohyo-iri ceremony! |「海陽で行ってみた！」赤ちゃんの土俵入り編
Hello, it's Tony!
こんにちは、トニーだよ！
In mid-October, I checked out one of Kaiyo’s ceremonies that was held for the first time in 4 years, the Dohyo-iri ceremony.
10月中旬に、4年ぶりに行われた「海陽町の赤ちゃんの土俵入り」を見てきたよ。
The baby’s Dohyo-iri is a ring-entering ceremony, very much like sumo wrestling, that celebrates the babies that were born in the past year in hope that they will grow up strong and healthy. I heard that it’s a long-standing tradition of the nearby Minatobashira shrine that has continued since the Edo period - that’s over 300 years!
赤ちゃんの土俵入りとは、この1年間に生まれた赤ちゃんが強く元気に成長するように願う神事だよ。江戸時代から続く近くの湊柱神社の伝統行事で、なんと300年以上も続いているよ！
The ceremony is usually held outdoors, but it was moved to the nearby gymnasium because of some bad weather.
通常は屋外広場で行われるんだけど、今回は悪天候のために近くの体育館で行われたよ。
Babies sported a loincloth embroidered with dragons, tigers, and all sorts of other traditionally strong creatures. Of course, the babies are too young to be able to walk yet, so the gyoji referee steps in and “enters” them into the ring. What appears to be salt is sprinkled onto the baby’s head before they’re lifted up, followed by a roar of applause from the audience. I heard that the harder the babies cry, the tougher they’ll grow up to be. Let’s just say that tears were flowing like a river.
赤ちゃんは、竜や虎など、伝統的に強い生き物が刺繍された化粧まわしを着けていたよ。もちろん赤ちゃんはまだ歩けないほど幼いので、行司が赤ちゃんを抱いて土俵に上がる。塩が頭に振りかけられた後、赤ちゃんが行司に高く抱え上げられた状態で、見ている人の歓声を集めたよ。赤ちゃんは泣けば泣くほどたくましく育つだと聞いたけど、泣き出した子がほとんどだったね。
Following the initial ceremony, a little sumo wrestling match took place that some of the kids from the local kindergartens took part in, and it was absolutely adorable to watch. The older kids showcased some impressive skills, actually making for some riveting Sumo wrestling that had the crowd cheering.
土俵入りの後、地元の保育園児が参加する相撲対決が行われたけど、見ていて本当にかわいらしかったよ。年上の子どもたちは素晴らしい技を披露していて、見ている人たちが応援したくなるような相撲だったよ。
The cutest moments happened with the younger kids, especially ones still figuring out this whole Sumo thing, which resulted in hugging and staring contests that totally melted the hearts of everyone watching.
一番可愛かったのは年少の子どもたちで、特にまだ相撲というものが分かっていない子どもたちは、ハグをしたり、にらめっこをしたりして、見ている人たちの心を癒やしてくれたよね。
All in all, it’s pretty rare to be able to see so many little babies together at once and it was really just a heartwarming event overall!
一度にこれほど多くの可愛い赤ちゃんを見る機会は珍しかったと思うし、本当に心が温まるイベントだったね！