F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-213

Niino Snow Festival (Niino no Yuki Matsuri)

新野の雪祭りにいののゆきまつり

The Niino Snow Festival is an all-night sacred performance held every January 13–15 (morning) centered on Izu Shrine and Suwa Shrine in Niino, Anan, Nagano, and designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1977 under the name 'Yuki-matsuri.' Treating snow as an auspicious omen of a bountiful year, it prays for an abundant harvest; the main rite runs through the night of the 14th into the next morning in the precincts of Izu Shrine. Parishioners wearing plain masks (omote-gata, currently 19 types) finished with only ink, white pigment, and red ochre become embodiments of the gods, offering varied numbers such as the supreme deity 'Saihō,' plus Keiba, Motoki, Matsukage, Tengu, Hachiman, Modoki, and Ta-asobi in movements descended from dengaku, bugaku, kagura, and sarugaku. Said to date to the late Kamakura period, it vividly preserves the archaic form of dengaku and medieval performing arts and is of immense value to performance history. Known as the 'sleepy, smoky, cold festival,' its scene of masked gods emerging by torchlight amid falling snow in the dark precincts is overwhelming.