Designated one of Japan's National Important Intangible Cultural

Shimotsuki Matsuri in Toyama-go - Yudate Kagura, Inviting the Gods to Bathe and Cleanse the Impurities of the Past Year

This is a special program presented in collaboration with one of Heartland's partner organizations, dedicated to preserving the traditional culture of the local area.

Located in the deeply mountainous region of southern Nagano Prefecture, Toyama-go is an intimate, tranquil hamlet. Toyama-go's Shimotsuki Matsuri ritual is a yudate kagura (kagura is a Shintoism-rooted sacred Japanese dance and music ritual dedicated to the gods, and yudate literally means "to boil water" - yudate kagura is a kind of kagura which involves boiling water as a part of the ritual) held at about ten shrines in the area on different days in mid-December - the season of winter solstice when daylight is shortest and it is believed that the life force becomes weak. Shimotsuki, meaning "the month of frost", comes from the name of this season of the lunar calendar.

Although the content of the ritual differs slightly from shrine to shrine, the yudate kagura begins with a purification ceremony to welcome the gods, followed by the boiling of water in a cauldron, to be offered to the gods. At the climax of the festival, figures wearing a variety of masks representing the gods appear and splash hot water from the boiling cauldrons with their bare hands. It is believed that this misogi-no-yu (purifying water) sprinkled over the local people will rid them of the evils from the past 12 months and give them new blessings to welcome the coming year. The series of rituals culminates in a solemn prayer for the gods to return home.

Become immersed in the swirling smoke from the cooking stove of a small, intimate shrine, and experience ancient Japanese traditions of prayer firsthand, as local residents commune with their gods.