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Akita City/“Miyoshi Bonten Festival” where devotees bravely fight for the lead in the shrine grounds

2024/12/01

Akita City/“Miyoshi Bonten Festival” where devotees bravely fight for the lead in the shrine grounds

Each participating group holds up a brightly colored Brahma statue.

The "Miyoshi Bonten Festival" is a traditional event held on January 17th every year at the "Taiheizan Miyoshi Shrine" in the Hiromen district of Akita City. Local neighborhood associations, elementary and junior high schools participate, and they pray for good health and a bountiful harvest for the coming year, as well as dedicating a 3-meter long Bonden to the shrine.

''Bonten'' is a yorishiro from which the god descends, and at the same time, it is also a sacred ritual tool that purifies and purifies the town. In the past, it was a simple object shaped like a gohei or a small ear of rice, but as the belief in Sankichi grew, the number of dedications and the number of visitors increased, and Brahma became more ornate. Nowadays, it is common to hang a bamboo basket on a long pole and decorate it with colorful cloth or brocade. Starting from the tip, there is a ''hozuki'', a headband, and the main body, which has a gohei and a triangular amulet attached to it.

In addition, various forms of Brahma are dedicated to each participating organization, including those that follow the ancient shapes of hanging gohei, ears of rice, and money, and those with unique features such as origami cranes.

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About the Writer

writer

Minako Yoshida

Ikuseishimo has written tourism articles for the six prefectures of Tohoku plus α.

My latest craze is machine knitting, and I've started attending classes as well.