Onbashira Part 1: Kamisha

In many ways, Onbashira epitomises the spirit, cooperation and tradition that make Japan unique. Honestly, I can only imagine this amazing festival being correctly pulled off in Japan. Living in the Lake Suwa area, I'm simultaneously grateful that I'm able to experience it, and awed that the rest of the world hasn't heard about it. Even in Japan, knowledge of its existence is limited.

There are two main parts to Onbashira: the yamadashi (in April) and the satobiki (in May).

The yamadashi occurred last weekend in Chino (called Kamisha), and this weekend in Shimosuwa (called Shimosha).  This is the part of the festival where enormous logs (referred to as "pillars") are dragged from the top of the mountain by hundreds and hundreds of people, and at one point, ridden down a steep hill by a few brave souls.  It's dangerous as hell, but incredibly exciting, too.  These logs will eventually be used to renew the shrines in the area that make up the 'Suwa Taisha Shrine'.

In last week's Kamisha, the logs slide down two smaller slopes - the second crashing into a river. Although these drops are mostly controlled, the men who ride the pillars actually hold onto smaller logs coming out from the top of the main one in a V-shape. It's a long drop if they fall.

Although the kiotoshi (the "tree drop") is the focal point, Onbashira is still all about ceremony, and that includes the call-and-response chant as men pull the ropes, the trumpeting of the Onbashira theme, and the kiyari (the high-pitched singing you'll hear in the video below). In tandem, these create a rich, tradition-steeped soundtrack to what is a magnificent spectacle.

As far as I'm aware, no one was hurt in Kamisha this year.