 Last additions - Iba-no-saka-kudashi Matsuri Festival 伊庭の坂下し祭 |
About the Iba Goten Palace. 伊庭御殿遺跡Jun 29, 2011
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The palace seems to have had a large spread. The palace is known to have been designed by Kobori Enshu, a famous artist from Shiga. The place is now used as a park.Jun 29, 2011
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Small monument at Iba Goten.Jun 29, 2011
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Near the Sanposan Shrine is the site of the Iba Goten Palace.Jun 29, 2011
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The Iba Goten Palace was a rest house for shoguns traveling between Tokyo and Kyoto during the early Tokugawa Period. 伊庭御殿遺跡Jun 29, 2011
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Looks like the mikoshi storehouse.Jun 29, 2011
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Sanposan Shrine near the bottom torii.Jun 29, 2011
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The three mikoshi are being readied for their next destination at another shrine nearby.Jun 29, 2011
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They put the ornaments back on.Jun 29, 2011
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Shrine musicians play as the mikoshi arrive.Jun 29, 2011
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They undo the ropes covering the mikoshi.Jun 29, 2011
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All three mikoshi are placed near the torii,Jun 29, 2011
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After hitting the paved road, they carry the mikoshi to a place nearby.Jun 29, 2011
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The third and red mikoshi Ninomiya passes through the torii. 二の宮Jun 29, 2011
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The second mikoshi Hachioji hits the pavement.Jun 29, 2011
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The third mikoshi, called Ninomiya, passes through the torii. 二の宮 Jun 29, 2011
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The second mikoshi, called Hachioji, passes through. 八王子Jun 29, 2011
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Two people behind the mikoshi hold ropes attached to the mikoshi.Jun 29, 2011
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The second mikoshi, called Hachioji, passes through. 八王子Jun 29, 2011
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They sing a song as they drag the mikoshi. It's a contsant stop-and-go process.Jun 29, 2011
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The Sannomiya mikoshi passes in front of us as they dragged it down the rocky slope. People do get hurt. I saw one guy who had hurt his foot, but was able to walk back down the mountain while accompanied by a fireman.Jun 29, 2011
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The first mikoshi called Sannomiya finally arrives near the bottom.Jun 29, 2011
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My YouTube video of the Iba-no-saka-kudashi Matsuri.Jun 29, 2011
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Three costumed boys wait right beyond the torii.Jun 29, 2011
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As the first mikoshi's scheduled arrival time nears, more people gather and climb the slope.Jun 29, 2011
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A shrine priest in full dress climbs down to my amazement.Jun 29, 2011
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The kids are not afraid at all of the steep slope. The secret is to travel light. I was too bogged down with camera equipment and decided to stay near the bottom torii which tends to get most crowded.Jun 29, 2011
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Quite a few people climbed up, and they seemed to be locals who have been climbing up the mountain a number of times even with young kids in hand.Jun 29, 2011
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If you want to climb up the slope to see the mikoshi at higher-up rough spots, you have to climb up. Jun 29, 2011
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It makes you wonder how they can carry a heavy mikoshi down such a steep and rough slope. Jun 29, 2011
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About the Ibanosaka-kudashi Matsuri.Jun 29, 2011
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A few shrine buildings near the bottom torii.Jun 29, 2011
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The torii is right on the bottom of the steep and rocky mountain slope.Jun 29, 2011
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People start to gather near the bottom torii, a point called Sakashita (Slope Bottom). 坂下Jun 29, 2011
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Those rough spots can be exceptionally steep or difficult to pass for the men carrying the mikoshi portable shrine down the mountain. It's only 500 meters, but very steep and rocky.Jun 29, 2011
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Rough timetable of the three portable shrines being hauled down the steep mountain. There are several points of interest (rough spots which are all named) and the approximate times when they will pass by.Jun 29, 2011
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Area around the bottom torii of Sanposan Shrine. MapJun 29, 2011
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They carry the three mikoshi portable shrines up to Sanposan Shrine atop the mountain on May 3, the day before the festival on May 4. The god's spirit is then transferred to the mikoshi. One mikoshi is already on the ground.Jun 29, 2011
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Some Jizo statues along the way to Sanposan Shrine from Notogawa Station.Jun 29, 2011
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Part of Sanposan Shrine can be seen atop on Kinugasa-yama. The festival is related to the Junishi Chinese zodiac. They sing about the dragon going up the mountain and slithering down as a snake.Jun 29, 2011
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Held on May 4 by Sanposan Shrine in Higashi-Omi, Shiga Prefecture, Iba-no-saka-kudashi Matsuri has three portable shrines hauled down a steep mountain (Kinugasa-yama) for about 500 meters. Jun 29, 2011
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View of the bottom torii of Sanposan Shrine (繖峰三神社) on Kinugasa-yama (繖山) 432 meters high. (As seen from the train on the JR Tokaido Line. This torii is 15-min. walk from JR Notogawa Station. 繖峰三神社)Jun 29, 2011
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