F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-150
weird
Hadenya Spring Prayer Ritual (Haru-kitō)
波伝谷の春祈祷はでんやのはるきとう
D A T E2026-03-15
A spring prayer rite of the Sanriku coast transmitted in the Hadenya hamlet of Togura, Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi. Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Minamisanriku Town. A shishi (lion) dancer visits every house in the hamlet, transferring household misfortune into a block of tofu that is then carried beyond the village boundary and sent off to the sea or mountains. The combination of shishi-borne exorcism with tofu as the vessel of evil is distinctive to this Sanriku fishing-village rite. After interruption by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake it was revived by hamlet residents.
N O P H O T O
H I G H L I G H T S
Highlights
- 01Minamisanriku Town Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property
- 02A Sanriku spring prayer rite in which a shishi visits each household
- 03Rare form in which tofu serves as the vessel for sealing misfortune
- 04Preserves a structure of sending evil out beyond the hamlet
- 05Revived by hamlet residents after the 2011 disaster
D E E P D I V E