F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-249

Obi Matsuri (Shimada Grand Festival) at Oi Shrine

大井神社 帯祭（島田大祭）おおいじんじゃ おびまつり（しまだたいさい）

Held at Oi Shrine in Shimada, Shizuoka, once every three years (years of the Tiger, Snake, Monkey, and Boar) in mid-October, this grand festival is popularly known as the 'Obi Matsuri' (Sash Festival) and counts among Japan's three most unusual festivals. Its great highlight is the 'oyakko,' the star figures of the daimyo procession: with large wooden swords thrust at both hips, they hang round sashes of gold brocade from the blades and parade with slow, idiosyncratic movements, observing a strict form down to the lift of the foot and the motion of the fingertips. This is said to derive from a custom in which brides who had married into the Shimada post town, after praying for safe childbirth, paraded through the town displaying their sashes; as the post town grew and this became impractical, the oyakko came to display the sash on a sword in the bride's stead. The procession of some 250 participants stretching about 500 meters through the old post town is a magnificent sight, and the 'Daimyo Procession of the Shimada Obi Festival' is designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Shizuoka Prefecture. The festival is said to have begun in 1695 and has a history of more than 330 years.