Encyclopedia of Shinto

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カテゴリー1： 5. Rites and Festivals
カテゴリー2： Individual Shrine Observances
Title
Sunayama matsuri
Text
"Sand mountain festival." A rite held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month at Isasumi Shrine in Aizutakada Township, Ōnuma District, Fukushima Prefecture. Two mounds of sand are constructed on the shrine grounds (keidai) to serve as the ritual space. The shiogamakami (kami of the urn for making salt from saltwater) who is enshrined in the aidono (a structure enshrining multiple kami) is transferred (kanjō) to the mounds of sand. Two priests (shinshoku) wearing torikabuto (hats specifically worn by gagaku dancers) and ōnohana masks (masks with long noses) intone a secret chant while pounding three eight-sided stakes into the sand mounds with a hammer. They present offerings and chant liturgies (norito), there is a dance by shrine maidens (miko), and all participants worship together. Rice cakes wrapped in bamboo leaves are presented as offerings (shinsen). The region is extremely mountainous and it was extremely difficult to obtain salt here in the past. The rite is held to ensure the availability of salt. This festival is also called the endo matsuri.
— Mogi Sakae

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

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