About this event
A New Year event praying for bumper crops, family safety, and prosperity of descendants, this traditional ritual has continued for over 200 years since the mid-Edo period in the Uehara district of Saku City, Nagano Prefecture. The festival reflects the devotion of local residents in carefully preserving the rice paddies of Asashina, one of Japan's leading regions for producing high-quality rice, and is said to have originally begun to scare away birds gathering in the fields. In the morning of the festival, elementary and junior high school students dressed in happi coats along with a shishimai (lion dance) visit newly married couples and newly built homes to pray for household safety. In the afternoon, they parade along the roadside carrying banner flags and pulling festival floats. The sight of children marching while holding banners bearing the inscription "Sarutahiko Daimyojin" and singing the "Tori-oi Uta" (bird-chasing song), together with the charming lion dance and the procession of gohei (sacred paper streamers) and banners passed down through generations, creates a unique atmosphere distinctive to this region.
Source website (Japanese) ↗Venue
Uehara, Saku City
Kou Saku-shi Uehara, Saku-shi, Nagano 384-2104
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