Bonden

Overview

Bonden Matsuri is the collective name for a group of winter Shinto rituals held around the Little New Year in various places throughout Akita Prefecture. A bonden is a large sacred wand that serves as a marker and vessel (yorishiro) for a deity to descend into. Made by attaching a basket to the tip of a tall pole and decorating it with brightly colored cloth and lavish ornaments, the bonden is carried to a shrine and dedicated with rousing chants. The sight of these wands being borne through deep snow toward the shrine is one of the great symbols of winter in Akita. The dedication carries prayers for a bountiful harvest, family safety, prosperous business, industrial growth, and good health throughout the coming year.

The Bonden Matsuri of Akita is not a single event but a cluster of local rituals, each with its own character. The most famous include the Miyoshi Bonden Festival at Taiheizan Miyoshi Shrine in Akita City, the Yokote Bonden dedicated at Asaokayama Shrine in Yokote City, and the Bonden That Crosses the River in the Omagari district of Daisen City, where wands are carried across a river by boat. All share the boldness of teams jostling fiercely for the lead as they dedicate their wands, along with the splendor of the ornamental crests, yet each retains strong regional differences in date, origin, and the manner of dedication.

History and Origins

The origins of the word and form of the bonden are told in several ways and are not firmly settled. It is said to derive from the word bode, a vessel into which a deity descends during festivals, which later merged with Daibontenno, a ritual wand of Shugendo mountain asceticism, and eventually came to be written with the characters read as bonden. The offering wand signifies the finest gift presented to the gods; in ancient times silk, cotton, and hemp were used, but over the ages these gave way to the varied cloths seen today. In this way, Bonden Matsuri grew from a fusion of yorishiro belief and Shugendo elements into a folk ritual unique to Akita.

The Miyoshi Bonden Festival at Taiheizan Miyoshi Shrine in Akita City is said to have begun sometime in the Edo period, though the exact starting year is unknown. Because the enshrined deity, Miyoshi-reijin, has long been revered as a god of strength and contest, dedicators compete boldly for the lead and jostle violently within the precincts to draw upon that power, earning the festival the nickname Kenka Bonden, or fighting bonden. With roughly 80 wands dedicated each year, it boasts the largest number in the prefecture and has become established as a winter tradition of Akita City in which spectators join wholeheartedly in the excitement.

The Yokote Bonden, dedicated at Asaokayama Shrine in Yokote City, is a Little New Year event said to have some 300 years of history. Because old records were lost in an 1821 fire at the priest's residence, its origins are uncertain, but it is said that the shape of the matoi standards carried by firefighting groups during a great hunt held by the lord Tomura Judayu in 1845 was handed down as today's large bonden. Once dedicated on the old lunar calendar date of the 17th day of the first month, the event was moved to February 17 of the new calendar in 1952 and became a tourist snow festival from 1954. A Bonden Contest judging the ornaments was added in 1959, and from 1980 the Kowaka Bonden, dedicated mainly by local elementary school children, joined as well.

The Bonden That Crosses the River in the Hanadate district of Omagari, Daisen City, is a tradition said to be more than 160 years old. It originated in the practice of crossing the Omono River by boat to dedicate wands at Izusan Shrine on the far bank, which could once be reached only by ferry. Although the Omagari Ohashi bridge was completed in 1977 and the ferry disappeared the following year, the community cherishes the old custom and to this day carries its bonden across the river by boat, preserving a distinctive scene. Thus, even within the same Bonden Matsuri, the geography and history of each place have shaped the manner of dedication.

Highlights

The fighting bonden and its scramble for the lead
At the Miyoshi Bonden Festival, teams hold up their village placards and advance toward the shrine sounding conch shells and singing bonden songs. As they near the precincts, they merge into a great surging mass, and the scramble for the lead reaches its peak as some strive to dedicate their wands while others try to block rival teams. This intensity is the reason for the nickname Kenka Bonden, a rousing spectacle born of faith in Miyoshi-reijin, the god of strength.

Splendid ornaments and the contest
The greatest feature of the Yokote Bonden is its unrivaled size and its gorgeous ornaments. The main body attaches a basket about 90 centimeters across to the tip of a four-meter pole, hung with colorful sagari of Yuzen dyeing, silk, and habutae. The crest ornaments, once modeled on town or group emblems, are now more often shaped after the animal of the zodiac year, light and beautiful, and their craftsmanship is shown off in the Bonden Contest held the day before.

Dedication by boat across the river
At the Bonden That Crosses the River in Omagari, the bearers board a boat and cross the wintry Omono River to reach Izusan Shrine on the opposite bank. The choice to keep the ferry crossing even in an age of bridges is found in no other bonden event and draws many visitors as a winter scene coloring the river.

Performance of the Miyoshi-bushi bonden song
At the Miyoshi Bonden Festival, the Akita folk song Miyoshi-bushi, long handed down at Taiheizan Miyoshi Shrine, is sung. As the wands make their way toward the shrine, each team's singers ring out verses, adding a distinctive flavor to the festival. Every January, a workshop by the Miyoshi-bushi preservation society is also held at the shrine to keep the song alive.

The contest over the sankaku-mamori charm
At the Miyoshi Bonden Festival, the sankaku-mamori triangular charm attached to the wands is believed to hold strong spiritual power, and spectators reach out to seize it. The struggle between dedicators and onlookers marks the climax of the festival, and the way viewers become participants is a charm unique to Bonden Matsuri.

Bonden carried by children
In recent years, wands carried by children as well as adults have become a highlight. At the Miyoshi Bonden Festival, childrens groups and youth sports clubs dedicate their own wands, and in Yokote the Kowaka Bonden of elementary school children joined from 1980. This picture of a community passing the ritual to the next generation forms a warm side of the festival.

Event Information and Access

• Miyoshi Bonden Festival: Taiheizan Miyoshi Shrine Head Shrine (3-2 Azanuma, Hiromote, Akita City) / every January 17 / about 10 minutes by bus from Akita Station, about 8 minutes by car from Akita-Chuo IC
• Yokote Bonden: Asaokayama Shrine (Kaminiwatoda, Osawa, Yokote City) and elsewhere / bonden dedication on February 17 each year, with the Bonden Contest the day before on February 16 (in front of Yokote City Hall)
• Bonden That Crosses the River: Hanadate district of Daisen City, across the Omono River to Izusan Shrine / every February 11 / about 7 minutes by car from JR Omagari Station, about 10 minutes from Omagari IC on the Akita Expressway
• Season: All concentrated in winter around the Little New Year (January to February)
• Viewing: Generally free outdoor viewing. Warm clothing and non-slip footwear are essential due to severe snow and cold
• Inquiries: Individual shrines and city tourism associations (Yokote City Tourism Association 0182-33-7111, and others)

Around the Area

When visiting the Miyoshi Bonden Festival in Akita City, it is recommended to combine it with the nature of Mount Taihei, home of the head shrine, and with Senshu Park and the Kubota Castle ruins in central Akita City. Winter Akita City has many restaurants serving local dishes such as kiritanpo, which warm the body chilled by the excitement of the festival.

The Yokote Bonden pairs with the Yokote Kamakura event held at the same time. Being able to experience both the still kamakura, in which the water deity is enshrined within snow huts, and the dynamic bonden with its vigorous jostling in a single trip is a special delight found only in snowbound Yokote. Yokote yakisoba, a local specialty, is another taste to enjoy alongside the festival.

Omagari in Daisen City is nationally known for its summer Omagari Fireworks, but in winter the Bonden That Crosses the River colors the Omono River. Hot spring resorts are scattered around the area, allowing visitors to soak leisurely amid the snowy scenery and savor the sentiment of a winter journey through Akita.

Related Information

• Season: January to February (winter, around the Little New Year)
• Region: Akita Prefecture (Akita City, Yokote City, Daisen City, and elsewhere)
• Main dedication sites: Taiheizan Miyoshi Shrine (Akita City), Asaokayama Shrine (Yokote City), Izusan Shrine (Daisen City)
• Origin: A special ritual unique to Akita, fusing yorishiro belief and Shugendo (said to date back before the Edo period)
• Common alternative name: Kenka Bonden (fighting bonden, for the Miyoshi Bonden Festival)
• Features: Lavish crest ornaments, jostling for the lead, and folk elements such as the sankaku-mamori charm and bonden songs

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