Iga festival
Revisiting Iga-ueno city, we looked around the museum named 'Danjiri Kaikan'. We learned an amazing festival in which a hundred and more ogres and demons walked around streets of Iga-ueno city. In more detail, we'll explain below.
The festival is held in every second half of October. We can confirm the date when the festival is held by website. And it continues 3 days. Its feature is a parade of 'Mikoshi', 'Oni-gyoretsu', and 'Danjiri'. 'Mikoshi' is a portable shrine, and we already met at Hiyoshi-taisha shrine (refer to an article 'Armed priest'). 'Danjiri' is a float, please remember 'Inuyama festival', we saw many floats there (refer to an article 'Inuyama festival'). Maybe it's not so important, floats of Japanese festivals have several names, so 'Dashi' in Inuyama festival is same as 'Danjiri' in Iga festival. These 2 items are regular members in a lot of Japanese festivals.
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| at 'Danjiri Kaikan' |
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| at 'Danjiri Kaikan' |
However, 'Oni-gyoretsu' is not usual. 'Oni' is an ogre, and 'gyoretsu' means 'parade'. Why ogres parade in a festival? They put masks of numerous types of ogres, and wear a variety of traditional costumes. They look like 'zombie' people. 'Danjiri' was developed affected by the Gion festival in Kyoto, but the origin of 'Oni-gyoretsu' is in a sealed book.
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| from HP of this festival |
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| from HP of this festival |
This festival is officially called 'Ueno tenjin festival'. Its origin is around 12 centuries, so quite long history it has. When Oda Nobunaga invaded Iga district, temples were destroyed, and this festival also ceased. In 1611, Todo Takatora, one of famous Sengoku lords became a lord of Iga district. He decided to reflourish the 'Ueno tenmangu' shrine. Then this festival was revived around 1660 in the early Edo period.
