I went to the Ozato Hachiman Shrine's Autumn Festival! |「海陽で行ってみた！」大里八幡神社秋祭り編
Hi, everyone! It’s May here this time.
皆さん、こんにちは！今回はメイがお送りするよ。
Earlier this year in October, I went to the Hachiman Shrine Festival. Hachiman Shrine is by Matsubara beach and it’s a very popular shrine. Many people visit it on New Years and it has many cultural events throughout the year.
今年の10月、私は大里八幡神社の秋祭りに行ってきたよ。八幡神社は大里松原海岸の近くにあって、とっても有名な神社なんだよ。お正月には多くの人が訪れ、年間を通してたくさんのイベントや行事がここで開催されているよ。
The Hachiman Shrine Festival is one of the biggest festivals in Kaiyo. It’s a danjiri festival. Danjiri are big, colorful, wooden floats from different parts of town that are pulled by volunteers to the shrine. Children ride in the float and play percussion instruments. In the past, it seems only boys were allowed to ride the floats, but now it is open to kids of any gender. They all dress up in beautiful make-up and kimonos.
大里八幡神社の秋祭りは海陽町では大きな祭りで、だんじり祭りなんだ。だんじりは大きくて色鮮やかな木製山車のことで、町内の色んな地域から希望者を含めた曳き手によって神社まで曳かれるよ。子どもたちはきれいな化粧と着物を着て、だんじりに乗り、鳴り物を演奏するよ。昔は男の子しかだんじりに乗ることができなかったようだけど、今は性別に関係なく参加できるみたいだよ。
Volunteers get up early and start pulling the danjiri from around 8 AM. Each one represents a neighborhood or community in Kaiyo. They pull the danjiri from their starting neighborhood to the Hachiman shrine. Gwenafaye volunteered with the Women’s Danjiri, so I walked from my house and met them when they were about halfway there. Everybody was there to help out and there was a great, exciting atmosphere. There was lots of singing, drinking, and making new friends on the way.
だんじりは数台あり、それぞれのだんじりは海陽町の地区を代表しているんだ。曳き手たちは朝8時に集合して、それぞれの地区から大里八幡神社までだんじりを曳いて巡行するんだよ。グウェナフェーイが女だんじりのボランティアをしていたので、自宅から歩いていく途中で会ったよ。色んな人たちが手伝いに来ていて、歌ったり、お酒を飲んだり、仲間を作ったり、とても賑やかな雰囲気だったよ。
When we got to Hachiman Shrine, the danjiri took turns running and circling around in front of the shrine. The danjiri are made completely of wood, so running and turning them takes a lot of work! It’s really exciting to watch them drift around in front of the shrine!
八幡神社に着くと、だんじりが順番に神社の前へ走り込んでくるんだ。だんじりは完全に木でできているので、走りながら方向転換するのはとても大変だ！神社の前で勢いよく曲がっている様子、本当に刺激的だったよ！
After they ran the danjiri, everybody took a break for lunch. There were a lot of food stalls at the shrine and it was a beautiful day for a picnic in the woods nearby.
だんじりを走らせた後は、みんなが昼食休憩に入っていったよ。神社の近くにはたくさんの屋台が出ていて、林の中でピクニックをしていた人がたくさんいたよ。
Near the end of the festival, there was a Shinto ceremony with tengu warriors and shishi lion guardians who bless people. They also had a portable shrine that onlookers can run under when they lift it up in the crowds. I ran under it with my friends, so hopefully we have good luck now!
祭りの最後らへんには神輿のお浜出が始まった。人混みの中で神輿が担ぎ手によって持ち上げられて、その下を潜り抜けることができたよ。私は友達と一緒にその下を潜り抜けたから、これで運が良くなるといいな！天狗や、人の頭を噛んで邪気を食べてくれる獅子もいたよ。
There was also yabusame, horseback archery, in which people dressed in traditional Shinto robes shoot at wooden targets on the trees. If they hit the target, the pieces of it fall down and onlookers try to get a piece for good luck. It was my first time seeing yabusame and it looked really hard!
伝統的な神道衣を着た人たちが馬に乗って、矢で木に固定した的を射る流鏑馬もあったよ。的に当たると木片が落ちてくるので、幸運のためにそれを手に入れようとする人もたくさんいたよ。流鏑馬を見るのは初めてだったけど、難しそうだね！
Finally, the danjiri made one last run through the beautiful Matsubara forest before everyone returned to their neighborhoods to watch the fireworks in the evening. Gwenafaye was really sore after walking and running all day, but she said it was worth it for the cool community experience and the beautiful fireworks display.
美しい大里松原の風景の中で、曳き手たちはだんじりを最後に巡行させてから各地区に戻り、夕方には花火を見たんだ。グウェナフェーイは一日中歩いたり走ったりして本当に疲れていたけど、「素敵な地元の人たちとの交流と綺麗な花火大会のために頑張った甲斐があった」と言っていたよ。
It was a great, exciting festival and I’m looking forward to next year!
最高で、迫力のあるお祭り、来年も楽しみだね！