(Picture courtesy of Kodaira-san)
全ての道はロマに通づると言いますが、北信の場合は全ての道は長野市へ通づる。特に、善光寺さんが中心。善光寺と権堂、その主の商店街。
上山田温泉の夏祭りの元となる「勇実獅子」はその中心となる権堂から分けてきました。上山田もそうだし、篠ノ井地区、松代地区、皆の獅子は元々権堂からだそうです。
今日は「信濃井イヤー」に合わせて、「獅子の祭典」が篠ノ井で開催された。篠ノ井から2機、上山田の勇実獅子、権堂からの勢獅子の４機が集まりました。私は上山田の獅子に２年ぶりに中に入りまして、うんと楽しませて頂きました。そして他の獅子も見れて、感動しました。
それぞれの獅子は特徴がある。皆は頭、本体、そして櫓がある。上山田の勇実獅子の頭が重い（３５kg）と思ったら、他の獅子は６５kgもあって、三人で支える頭もあった。その三人は足をそろって踊る事もある。口が開く頭もあった（上山田のは開かない）。そして、櫓は驚きました。篠ノ井の２機とも、スポンサーが付いたお蔭で宮大工の手で豪華な作りだ。
親戚の獅子の集まり。それぞれ誇りを持っている獅子。歴史と伝統はものすごく感じました。
最後の打ち上げは４機がそろって、チュチュした。（その時、上山田の獅子の頭は誰が入っていたでしょう?）
You know the saying "All Roads Lead to Rome"? Well, here in northern Nagano, it's more like "All Roads Lead to Zenko-ji", the temple around which Nagano City was built. The temple and its main shopping district, Gondo, are at the heart of our region.
Kamiyamada Onsen's summer festival originated with the arrival of a shi-shi lion given from Gondo. Shinonoi, Matsushiro and other nearby towns all have shi-shi lions that originated from Gondo. Today, Kamiyamada's Isami Shi-Shi, Gondo's Kiyoshi Shi-Shi,and two from Shinonoi had a sort of family reunion in celebration of 'Shinonoi Year'.
I myself participated and for the first time in 2 years, got to be inside the lion. That was a lot of fun, but it was an honor to be able to see the other shishi. All have the lion head and the body pulling a 2-story cart with musicians below and geisha ladies performing on the top. But beyond that, each one is very unique. I thought Kamiyamada's lion head was heavy at 35kg, but the others were 65kgs and are carried by 3 people (ours is carried by one person at a time). In some cases, those 3 guys coordinate their leg movement in a choreographed dance -- way cool! I was surprised to see some of the lions have mouths that open. But the biggest shock was seeing the decorative carts from Shinonoi. Kamiyamada's is rather plain by comparison -- the others apparently had benefactors that payed for traditional craftsmen to create beautifully detailed and elaborate roofs.
Seeing the 4 shi-shi together, each with their own characteristics and sense of pride, really gave me a feeling of the history and tradition involved.
For the grand finale, all 4 lions came together and, err, rubbed noses. (Guess who had the honor of being inside Kamiyamada's lion's head!)
獅子のチュチュ
