I went to Todoroki Shrine’s Autumn Festival! |「海陽で行ってみた！」轟神社秋祭り編
Hi everyone! Gwenafaye here.
みなさん、こんにちは！グウェナフェーイだよ。
A group of us from Global Kaiyo went to experience the Autumn Festival at Todoroki Falls in mid-November. Due to COVID, it has been three years since the last one was held. Although the taiko drumming portion of the festivities was canceled due to rain, we were still excited to see the festival. Read on to hear about one of Kaiyo’s special annual celebrations!
11月中に、「グローバル海陽」のメンバーで轟神社の秋季例大祭を見に行ったよ。コロナの影響で前回の開催から3年が経って、雨天のため太鼓演奏は中止となったけど、やはり私たちはお祭りにワクワクしていたよ！
海陽町の特別なお祭りの一つだから、チェックしてねー！
Once we trekked up the hill to the temple entrance and braved the long stairs to the main temple grounds, we stood with the crowd to watch the mikoshi – or portable shrine – and its carriers be blessed by the temple priest. As you can see, it was still pretty rainy at that point.
駐車場から神社の入り口まで大きい坂を登り、長い階段を上って本殿に到着すると、神輿と担ぎ手の身を清めるところを見れたよ。ここでは雨が降っていたよ。
Even before being blessed, the carriers spend the night before the main event purifying themselves by jumping into the main waterfall pool multiple times in a process called misogi! They also eat a meal made from locally grown ingredients, particularly highlighting fish, as the festival is meant to show the community’s gratitude for water. A large amount of sake is also drunk, as well as thrown on the carriers during various parts of the festival!
祭りの前夜に、担ぎ手は「禊ぎ」という何回も轟の滝の周りの池に入っていく行程をするよ！禊ぎの間には、地域の食事も食べるよ。水への感謝の気持ちを表すから、特に海部川と辺りの海でとれた魚を食べるんだって。また、禊ぎ中にいっぱい日本酒を飲んで、祭り中にも何回も担ぎ手にお酒を投げるよ！
After the blessing, the weather amazingly cleared up as the carriers began organizing to carry the mikoshi! I was lucky to be near it, so I could see their clothing better – the carriers wear hand-woven shoes made by volunteers to keep them from slipping on the exposed rocks in the river. One of them also had a cool shell horn, which they used along with a hanging drum to cheer on their peers as they carried the shrine.
清めた後、驚くほど天候が良くなったし、担ぎ手は神輿を担ぐ準備していたよ。近くにいたから、参加者の服装がよく見えたよ！川の滑りやすい岩に落ちないように、手作りの靴を履いていたんだ。あと、このすごいほら貝と太鼓もよく見ることができたよ。これらのものは、後で参加者のみんなを応援するために使っていたよ。
The participants took some photos, and then the event finally began! The carriers started shouting and lifting the mikoshi onto their shoulders before carrying it down the long main staircase to the river. There, the men clambered over large rocks and through the cold water to the main waterfall. Some festival-goers follow the procession, while others (like us!) hurry to the main waterfall area to see the culmination of their efforts – submerging the mikoshi (and themselves) in the main waterfall pool. The mist was so heavy from a full day of rain the day before that all of us standing near the waterfall pool were practically being rained on!
参加者が写真を撮った後で、祭りの「神事」が始まったよ！大きい声を出して神輿を肩に担ぎ上げ、長い階段を下って川まで運んでいたよ。本滝まで、担ぎ手は大きい岩と寒い川を乗り越えていったよ。「神事」を見に行った人々はこの行列を追っていたけど、私たちは本滝の所へすぐに行ったんだ。担ぎ手の努力の結晶、「お滝入り」を見たかったから！
前日にたくさん雨が降っていたから、霧の強さは雨みたいだったよ！
But that isn’t the end of the procession – reaching the pool means the hardest part is just about to start. The goal is to bring the mikoshi as deep into the rock crevice, and as near to the waterfall, as possible. However, the water here is very cold and deep, and there is a strong current due to the fast-flowing waterfall. Not only are they working to push the shrine into the crevice, but they are fighting the current while also swimming, themselves!
でも、滝のふもとに着くとこれから大変なんだ。目的はできるだけ滝の近くに神輿を運ぶこと。ただし、水はとても寒いし、深いし、その上に滝の勢いで水流はすごく強いんだ。神輿を岩の間に押し入れていっているだけではなくて、水流に逆らって頑張って泳ぎ進んでいたよ！
The teamwork of the carriers was moving, especially with some staying back with the hanging drum and horn, cheering the others on from a distance. It really felt like we were experiencing something special and intense!
担ぎ手のチームワークにはとても感動したよ。特にほら貝と太鼓を使う人は遠くから担ぎ手を応援していたんだ。本当に特別で、迫力のある経験ができたと感じたよ。
Once the mikoshi has made it as far into the crevice as the carriers can go, they bring it back out to much celebration. Then it is time to carry it back over the rocks to the original entry point. They then retrace their steps back through the lower temple grounds, where they wildly run around the open area at full speed, spinning and being spun by other carriers while being splashed with sake! I’ve been told that this is to make sure the god/spirit inside the mikoshi has had a good time on its adventure out of the main temple.
そして、できるだけ滝の近くに入り込んだあと、再び神輿を担ぎ出し、盛大に祝うんだ。もう一度岩を乗り越えて、川の「入り口」まで担いで、轟山龍爆院へ戻ったよ。そこで、日本酒を投げながら、こまのように回して、全速力で走り散らしたよ ！神輿の神様が本殿を飛び出して冒険を楽しんだかどうかを確認するための儀式だと聞いたよ。楽しそうだよね！
After the god is appropriately worn out, the carriers haul the portable shrine back up the long flight of stairs, stabilized with ropes, and return it to the main temple until the next year.
神様がやっと疲れると、神輿を長いロープで安定させながら階段へ担ぎ上げ、本殿に戻して翌年を迎えるんだ。
It was amazing to get to experience this unique and powerful festival, particularly after a three-year hiatus. If you’re planning to come to Kaiyo at some point in the future, I would definitely recommend trying to plan your visit around when the Autumn Festival is held. Kaiyo’s weather is quite lovely in autumn, and the drive up to and the area around Todoroki Falls is a beautiful spot for autumn colors, or kōyo. Be careful, though – the area is also inhabited by a good number of Japanese macaques. Neat to get to see them, but they are wild animals, still! 😊
特に約３年間の中止の後だったから、珍しくて特別なお祭りが経験できたことは素晴らしかったよ。これから海陽町に来る予定がある方へ、轟の秋例大祭の頃に来るとおすすめするよ！秋頃は天気もちょうどよくて、轟の滝への道のりも紅葉がたくさんあるかも。ただし、野生のサルも多く生息しているから、気を付けてね！見ることができるのは素敵だけど、やはり野生動物だからねー😊
