A rare festival that brings an ancient story back to life. Roles, passed down through generations by shrine parishioners.
Murone, a town located on the eastern edge of Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture, is home to 4400 residents. Abundant in nature, from the night sky being selected by the Japanese Government as one of the top places for stargazing to the dazzling azaleas that decorate Mt. Murone in May. It is also home to a tree-planting ceremony held by NPO "Mori wa Umi no Koibito, (The Forest is longing for the sea, the sea is longing for the forest)" with Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture.
Murone Shrine, located on the eighth station of the prominent 895-meter-high Mount Murone, is a deeply revered shrine and the focal point of the Murone Shrine Grand Festival (室根神社特別大祭, murone-jinja-tokubestu-taisai, or as the locals call it, murone taisai).
History of the festival
Murone Shrine, formerly a prefectural shrine, is dedicated to Izanami-no-Mikoto, creator deity of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, in the main shrine, Hongu, and Hayatama-no-Mikoto, also known as Izanagi no Mikoto, primordial god of creation and life, and Kotosaka-no-ono-Mikoto, God of decision-making and new beginnings, in the newly constructed shrine, Shingu.
Hongu (left), Shingu (right)
The shrine is said to have been founded in 718, when Ono-no-Azumabito, a samurai and court official of Japan's Nara period was engaged in a campaign against the Emishi people. He requested the Imperial Court to divide and re-enshrine a Kumano deity of Kii Province (now Wakayama Prefecture as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture) in an attempt to resolve the war. The deity left Kii Province, crossing the sea, arriving at Hosoura on the Karakuwa Peninsula (present-day Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture), and expressed divine intention to be enshrined on Mount Murone, which was called Onikabeyama at the time. It is said that Ono, together with the residents of the Murone area, prepared a white horse, and formed a procession. Along the way, the procession was treated to rice porridge, and a temporary shrine was built to welcome the deity. About 600 years on, in 1313, Shingu came to pacify the Seven Ōu Districts (roughly the southern part of Iwate Prefecture). The reenactment of these several events is what we see at the Murone Shrine Grand Festival, with key rituals continuing for over 1300 year ago.
Murone Shrine Grand Festival
Date of next festival: October 25 (Fri.) to 27 (Sun.), 2024
The Murone Shrine Grand Festival is a large-scale event that has been held continuously since the first Kumano deity was enshrined in 718.
Various roles with distinctive regional features, have carefully been handed down over 1300 years by the descendants of those who welcomed the deities. There are no instructions from the shrine for the preparations for the festival, and each person in an important role, known as a "jinyaku," carries out the role that has been passed down to them. For its rare and long preservation of tradition, it is designated as a National Intangible Folk Cultural Asset under the Religious Festivals and Beliefs category. Approximately 1,000 shrine parishioners from the town of Murone and surrounding areas attend the three-day celebration, which takes place in October of the year that follows a leap year on the lunar calendar.
Points of interest
After two days of rituals and events, the culmination occurs on the last day of the festival.
At 3:00 a.m. at Murone Shrine, the deities are transferred to Hongu and Shingu mikoshi (portable shrines). At 4:00 a.m., the mikoshi depart from Murone Shrine and descend the mountain. As they descend, an agricultural event at the rice planting platform is held. Divine helpers and their horses strive toward Matsuriba, which is 10 kilometers away, guided by the dim light of lanterns and the sound of taiko drums and Japanese flutes. At 8:00 a.m., both mikoshi arrive at Matsuriba and battle to be the first to climb the temporary shrine, which is approximately 7 meters high. Once the competition is over, the two mikoshi are installed at the temporary shrine, and a variety of events are held, including Shinto rituals, Maiko dance, and horse performances.
Details of the main event and grand finale for 2024
Competition to carry the mikoshi to the top: The main event of the festival is the race to install the Hongu and Shingu mikoshi at the temporary shrine.
Date: Oct 27, 2024, from around 7:30am Location: Matsuriba (follow signs)
Access: Train: 10-minute walk from Orikabe Station on the JR Ofunato Line Car: Take National Route 284 to Murone-cho Orikabe (special parking available at Murone Branch Office).
This article has been arranged using the information found on muronetaisai.com (JP) and Ichinoseki City Hall HP. Originally written for the Kitakami Times.
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