Encyclopedia of Shinto

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詳細表示 (Complete Article)

カテゴリー1： 5. Rites and Festivals
カテゴリー2： Individual Shrine Observances
Title
Warai Matsuri
Text
"Laughter festival." A festival held on October 10 at Niu Shrine in Kawabe Town, Hidaka District, Wakayama Prefecture. In this unusual festival, a procession is formed with a person bearing offerings in the lead. The bearer is followed by a long-nosed goblin (tengu), a demon, and people performing lion dances (shishimai) and a variant called the sasaramai. The paraders call out, "Laugh, laugh!" (Warae, warae) as they head toward the shrine. There before the altar, they all burst out into boisterous laughter. There is a story that the enshrined deity (saijin) Niutsuhime no mikoto, overslept and was late for the annual gathering of the kami at Izumo during kannazuki (October; see kamiari matsuri). For this, she was laughed at by the other kami.
— Mogi Sakae

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

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