大杉祭 Oosugi-matsuri Osugi Festival
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Osugi Festival is held in October every year at Osugi Shrine, which is worshipped by local people as the shrine of Anba-sama and Tengu. This festival is known for the music of Anba-bayashi, composed of the sounds of Japanese traditional gongs, drums and flutes, to which the dancers rhythmically dance around the floats dragged by the people in happi-gowns. Anba-bayashi is designated as a National Selective Intangible Folk Cultural Property. The festival dates back to the reign of the fourth Shogun, Ietsuna (1651-1680), when smallpox prevailed in this area. The villagers prayed for the cease of the epidemic by marching around the village carrying the mask of Tengu, which was the guardian deity of the village shrine. According to an old regional record, Hitachi Fudoki, the place where Osugi Shrine is located used to be called “Anba,” which was on the peninsula protruding out of the huge inner sea including present-day Lake Kasumigaura (Nishi-ura and Kita-ura), the Tone River, Inba-numa Pond, and Tega-numa Pond. At the tip of the peninsula stands a huge Japanese cedar tree, which has been called “Anba-sama” and worshipped by the local people as the guardian deity.
- address
- Inajiki, Ibaraki Prefecture
- name
- Osugi Festival
- phone
- 0298-94-2613