F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-210

Akutai Matsuri (Curse / Bad-Mouth Festival)

悪口まつり（あくたいまつり）あくたいまつり

Held on New Year's Eve at Oiwasan Bishamonten (Daiganzan Tamonin Saishoji Temple) in Ashikaga City, Tochigi, the Akutai Matsuri is an offbeat year-end rite premised on the idea that 'you may say any curse you like.' Its aim is to shout out, as loud insults, all the hardship and stress piled up over the year, so as to greet the new year with a refreshed spirit. Led by the sound of conch shells blown by mountain ascetics (yamabushi), participants gaze up at the starry sky and shout taunts like 'Bakayaro!' as they head up toward the summit main hall in a lantern procession. The day's climax is the 'Bad-Mouth Loud-Voice Contest,' in which participants stand on a box and bellow, their volume measured by a sound-level meter, with prize money for the winner. However, curses containing 'bou' — such as 'binbo' (poverty) and 'dorobo' (thief) — are forbidden. At midnight as the new year begins, the 'Takinagashi' rite is also held, in which sacred sake is received in a great cup 'like a waterfall.' Oiwasan Bishamonten is counted as one of Japan's three great Bishamonten temples, alongside Mount Shigi in Nara and Mount Kurama in Kyoto.