About this event
The Waseda Ningyo Kamiokuri is a New Year's ritual praying for good health, disease-free days, and safety throughout the year. Led by a puppet holding paper streamers (heisoku), a procession heads from Waseda Shrine to Kamiokuriba (the district boundary). Matchlock guns and bows and arrows were once used, but today fireworks are launched into the sky. Afterwards, participants move to Waseda Park without looking back, and the Dondoyaki bonfire ritual begins. At this event, dried fish grilled by the local officer couple is exquisite, and tasting various grilled mochi while mingling with local residents is another delightful highlight. The Waseda Puppet Theater is a three-person operated Ningyo Joruri puppet theater, notable for preserving a strong spirit of serving the deities in its original form.
Source website (Japanese) ↗Venue
Waseda Park
Saijo, Anan-cho, Shimoina-gun, Nagano 399-1504
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