祭り男
東京の商談会で一番インパクトがあったのは諏訪の御柱祭りの小松さんでした。最後で一緒に写真に一緒にポーズしてもらいました。御柱は来年の４月～６月中旬の予定ですが、その準備は既に進んでいるそうです。
御柱に観光客も体験できるコースもあるそうで、情報が入り次第またお知らせしたいと思っています。
At the sales meetings in Tokyo, the most memorable person was Komatsu-san of Suwa's once-every-seven-years Onbashira festival. The next festival is scheduled for April to mid-June 2010.
I asked him to pose with me for this picture. He explained that the men of Suwa put their lives into the festival. Each time, rumor has it that some people die celebrating the festival. The participants certainly put their lives at risk bringing the massive logs from the nearby mountains down to the Suwa Shrines. The logs are moved through a series of ceremonies, including down precipitous cliffs and through freezing cold rivers, climaxing in a ritual standing-up of the logs.
Komatsu-san said they have explanations in English and other languages available. When I get them, I will post them to this blog.
