Ungami of Shioya Bay

Overview

The Ungami of Shioya Bay, also known as the Sea God Festival, is a traditional rite held every year on the first day of the Boar following the end of the old Bon period, across the area of Shioya Bay in Ogimi Village, Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture. One of the sea god festivals long transmitted in the northern part of Okinawa's main island, it is said to have a history of four to five hundred years, and has been carefully handed down to the present day as a rite of gratitude for the bounty of sea and mountain and of prayer for the prosperity of the villages. The communal character of the event is clearly expressed in the way it is conducted by the entire settlement, centered on the ritual practitioners known as haminchu.

Ungami has been performed in various places across northern Okinawa, but as the ages passed its form changed and its presence faded, while at Shioya Bay it has been kept in a relatively old form and carried out on a grand scale. The life of a land surrounded by the sea, which drew its livelihood from those waters, gave rise to numerous rites praying for the gifts of both sea and mountain, and it is thought that the deep faith and solidarity of the villagers nurtured this festival. The competitive boat race of the dragon boats, the Ugwan Barii, which is the greatest highlight of the festival, has become a nationally valuable folk event that draws many spectators.

History and Origins

No reliable record survives of when the Ungami of Shioya Bay began, but because the lineage of an old family of Shioya is said to span eighteen generations, it is estimated to have arisen roughly four to five hundred years ago, around the time the settlement first took shape. The sea god festival itself arose in the villages of northern Okinawa in ancient times and was transmitted in various places, and the Ungami of Shioya Bay is positioned within this larger current.

The reason this event is fixed on the first day of the Boar after the old Bon is not clear, but its series of contents make it evident that it is a festival praying for a good harvest and a good catch. In the land of Shioya, surrounded by sea and mountain, various rites praying for the gifts of both naturally arose because the people drew their livelihood from them. This prayer, fused with the work of daily life, has served as the spiritual pillar sustaining the festival across generations.

The rites are conducted with the participation of the settlements known as the Four Ka, called Shika: Taminato, Yafu, Shioya, and Shirahama. Today Oho and Oshikawaesu are also included in what is called Shika, and a system in which several settlements cooperate to bear one great festival has been handed down. Because it is conducted centered on the haminchu drawn from each monchu, the patrilineal kin groups, kin consciousness is strong, and the solidarity of taking pride in the rites left by the ancestors has been the driving force that has kept this event alive to this day.

Owing to the high value of its folk customs, Ungami was designated a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, number 349, on December 15 in the ninth year of Heisei, 1997. The protecting bodies are the four districts of Taminato, Yafu, Shioya, and Shirahama. At the same time, because there is no reliable record, the umui, the words of prayer, and the forms of ritual are becoming simplified and abbreviated, and the small number of successors among the haminchu has been raised as a concern, so how to pass the tradition on to the next generation is a pressing question.

Highlights

Ugwan Barii, the Race of the Dragon Boats The greatest highlight of Ungami is the spirited race of the dragon boats, the Ugwan Barii. Setting out from Furuganza in Yafu, the Fugiban carrying the relatively young rowers is followed by the Ufu Barii carrying the veterans, and two or three haminchu ride in each boat, waving fans of kuba palm. The way the boats race at full speed sending up spray is likened to a dragon plowing through the water as it surges forward, overwhelming those who watch.

Women Welcoming the Boats with Drums on the Shore On the opposite shore at Shioya, the women of each settlement, wearing straw headbands and immersed in the seawater up to their waists, wave their hand towels, called tisaji, and beat drums to welcome the boats. When a boat reaches the far shore, the crew leap into the sea holding their oars and clash oar against oar to celebrate their victory, and the festival reaches its climax. This scene, in which sea and shore surge as one, symbolizes the vitality of Ungami.

The Procession of the Nuru and the Reverent Silence When the procession of the nuru passes by land amid the climax, the women and rowers who had been so lively until then all remove their headbands at once, lay their oars sideways, and put their hands together in prayer. The people lining the road also kneel and pray, and in an instant it falls as silent as if water had been cast over it. In this moment, where clamor and silence switch so vividly, the depth of the faith of the festival is concentrated.

The Yonkoi Sacred Dance at the Yafu Asagi At the Yafu Asagi, reached after a path of about fifteen hundred meters from the Taminato Asagi, the rites are held beneath a straw sunshade called a kumu. The sacred dance in which the ashibigami, wearing a crown called a habui, holds a bow and circles the central pillar while chanting yonkoi yonkoi, is thought to pray for a bountiful world, and creates a scene that is at once simple and mysterious.

The Alternation of Prayer Year and Dance Year Ungami has a Prayer Year, called Ugwan Maaru, and a Dance Year, called Urui Maaru, which alternate every other year. In the Prayer Year the prayers and offerings of the nuru and haminchu increase, while in the Dance Year the rites are simplified, and instead, the next day dances are held at Shioya and the whole village performs the saasaa at Taminato and Yafu. This system, which changes the festival's face year by year, brings a rich variation to the event.

Event Information and Access

• Location: Around Shioya Bay, Ogimi Village, Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture
• Venues: The asagi of Taminato, Yafu, and Shioya, and Shioya Bay, the stage of the Ugwan Barii
• Date: The first day of the Boar after the end of the old Bon each year (usually around August to September in the modern calendar)
• Main rites: Unkee, the welcoming on the eve; the rites at the Taminato and Yafu Asagi; the Ugwan Barii; and the prayers of Nagari and Paashi
• Cultural property designation: National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, number 349, designated December 15, 1997
• Access: Shioya in Ogimi Village, northern Okinawa's main island; drive north from Naha via the Nago area

Nearby Attractions

Ogimi Village lies in the nature-rich region of northern Okinawa's main island known as Yanbaru, forming part of Yanbaru National Park, where subtropical forest spreads. Shioya Bay is a quiet inner bay with a complex terrain, and beyond serving as the stage of Ungami, its rich natural scenery in itself captivates visitors. In the terrain, where sea and mountain press close, one can directly sense the background that nurtured the faith of Ungami, which prays for the gifts of both sea and mountain.

Ogimi Village also preserves the former office building of Ogimi Village, designated a national Important Cultural Property. Completed in the fourteenth year of Taisho, 1925, it is the prefecture's first full-scale reinforced concrete building, known for its excellent design that took the climate of Okinawa into account, such as adopting an octagonal plan to reduce the wind pressure of typhoons. Alongside viewing Ungami, it is worth visiting the village's modern architectural heritage.

The Yanbaru region is also known as a precious treasure house of nature with a unique ecosystem, home to many endemic animals and plants. This region, where traditional rites and untouched nature coexist, is a rare land where one can experience both the deep spiritual culture of Okinawa and its nature, and Ungami offers a chance to touch the very core of that culture.

Related Information

• Season: The first day of the Boar after the old Bon (around August to September in the modern calendar)
• Location: Ogimi Village, Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture (Okinawa region)
• Venue: Shioya Bay and the asagi of Taminato, Yafu, and Shioya
• Type: Sea god festival, a folk rite praying for a good harvest and catch
• Cultural property: National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, number 349, designated 1997
• Features: A history of some four to five hundred years; rites centered on the haminchu; the dragon boat race Ugwan Barii

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