![[Official] Kesennuma Tourism Information Site | Kesennuma Saite Kerain](https://kesennuma-kanko.jp/en/wp-content/themes/kesennuma-kanko.jp/img/logo-late2018.svg){kind=logo}
In this corner, we will have a Kesennuma citizen appear as a teacher.Rias Ark Museum of Art" This is Masamitsu Kayaoka, a curator in charge of historical and folklore materials at the Museum. Thank you very much, Professor Kayaoka!
The theme this time is ...
Hello everyone! This is Kayaoka from the Rias Ark Museum of Art.
Last time, bonitoFollowing on from last time, we will be introducing the history and culture of Kesennuma in a little more depth! This time, the theme is "Obon in Kesennuma."
In "Welcome Back, Mone," there is a scene where Mone returns home for Obon and reunites with her classmates. Kesennuma's Obon customs are featured at that time, adding depth to the drama. In particular, the scene where Monet's grandfather gazes out at the sea during the "Bon Boat Festival" was very memorable.
After watching the drama, some of you may have wondered, "What is a Bontana?" or "What were those spell-like words that Monet and the others were chanting?"
This time, we will explain about Kesennuma Obon, focusing on the Obon customs that appeared in the play.
Welcome Fire Spell
There was a scene where Monet, who had returned home for Obon, reunited with her classmates at her parents' house and lit a "welcoming fire" in the garden. In that scene, she held her feet over the fire and chanted some kind of spell. What did that mean? The words she was chanting at that time were,
"So that the snakes and centipedes don't get bitten and move around."
It means something like "May you not get bitten by snakes or centipedes, and may you not have pain anywhere on your body."
The fires lit on August 8 or 13 to welcome the spirits of ancestors into the home are called "mukaebi." In Kesennuma, mukaebi are made by lighting hemp stalks coated with sulfur (ratsok).
Ratsok (also known as Ratchok)
It is said that if you hold your feet over the fire or smoke at this time, you will not be bitten by snakes or centipedes, and you chant those words with that wish in mind. This custom seems to be performed in some homes when lighting the mukaebi, in other homes on August 8th, and in other homes on August 20th.
There are also houses that do not burn the ratsok themselves, and houses that burn the ratsok but do not chant. Currently, houses that chant seem to be relatively common in the Karakuwa area located north of Kesennuma City.
Kesennuma Bontana situation
In the play, Monet was assembling a Bon shelf using the kudeju (a wooden stand) that he brought back from Tome. It is said that the spirits of the ancestors of a family return to the house during Obon. The Bon shelf is an altar for worshiping the returning spirits of the ancestors.
▲Fushigurosennou. The person who told me about this flower said that they don't buy Bon flowers and fruits (such as Akebia) but pick them themselves from the mountains.
The bon shelf is decorated with ancestral tablets, rice dumplings, fruits, etc. Also, chrysanthemums, ominaeshi, lythrum salicaria, and fusigrosenno flowers are used. Each family has their own rules for the types and arrangement of offerings and bon flowers.
In this region, the room in which the Shinto altar and Butsudan are installed is called "Ogami." The Bon altar is set up in "Ogami" during the Obon period and is dismantled once the Obon period is over.
Obon customs vary greatly from region to region and from household to household. Even within Kesennuma city, the customs that have been passed down vary from household to household. Let's take a look at the bon shelves in homes around the city.
The Bon shelf in this house is a single-tiered type, with the memorial tablet and offerings placed on top of the tier. Bamboo is decorated on both sides, and the bamboo is tied to the shelf with kelp. This was the type of Bon shelf that Monet built using the Kumiteju that he brought back from Tome.
In addition to the single-tiered type, there are also bon shelves with several tiers. The old bon shelf that Monet's grandfather was originally trying to assemble is likely of this type.
In this house, the Bon shelf is placed facing the garden. In most cases, the rooms of the "Ogami" in Kesennuma face the garden. In this house, the shoji screens and veranda doors of the "Ogami" are left open so that the spirits of ancestors can enter from the garden.
Every morning, I put my hands together in prayer at the Bon altar. The Bon altar in this house is very gorgeous (the garden facing the "Ogami" can be seen in the background of the photo).
Animal biscuits for visiting the grave?!
This is not an offering to the Bon altar, but there are biscuits in the shape of animals that are an unusual offering when visiting graves during Obon. At this time of year, you can see them piled high in supermarkets for sale. It is not clear when and why this custom spread in Kesennuma... It is very mysterious (if anyone knows, please contact the museum).
By the way, in addition to animal biscuits, offerings at the graves include fruit-shaped sugar sweets, and diced eggplant and cucumber mixed with rice and poured with tea (called ``oshou-koumono'').
▲Offerings at the grave. In Kesennuma, many areas visit the graves on the morning of the 14th.
▲Animal-shaped biscuits. Although they are not unique to Kesennuma, they are an essential offering during Obon. Incidentally, in some parts of Shizuoka Prefecture, there is a custom of scattering similar biscuits on Setsubun.
Bon Festival Boat Festival and the Sea
In the drama, there was a scene where the Bon boats were taken to the beach at the end of Obon, immersed in seawater, and burned. The Bon boat floating is a custom to send off the spirits of ancestors who returned during Obon on a boat, and is carried out on the morning of August 8th.
▲Bon boat. The bow is tied with kelp.
In addition to the talismans called "Kakanjo" (distributed by the temple), the Bon boats are loaded with some of the offerings as souvenirs to the afterlife. In the past, Bon boats were handmade and woven from straw or wild rice, but nowadays they are purchased ready-made at supermarkets.
Apparently, after the Bon boats were released into the sea, it was the children's secret pleasure to swim after them and eat the fruit and other offerings that had been made. When I asked the local elderly about this memory, they spoke with great enthusiasm and seemed to enjoy it very much.
Meeting
Nowadays, out of consideration for the environment, Bon boats are not released into the sea or rivers. However, even now, when releasing them is prohibited, there are some households where the whole family goes down to the beach on the morning of Okuribon and soaks the Bon boats in seawater to send the spirits of their ancestors off to the other side of the sea. Even if releasing them is prohibited, people still want to at least formally send the spirits of their loved ones off the sea (or into the sea)... This shows just how special the sea is to this town both culturally and spiritually.
On the morning of the 16th, the whole family goes down to the beach, immerses the boats in seawater, and then offers prayers.
On the morning of the 16th, young people who had left Kesennuma returned home and met up with their classmates on the beach for the first time in a long time, exchanging words like "How are you doing?", giving a sense of the summer atmosphere unique to this region.
To the end
How was that?
I think that the things I've introduced here may be the same as the customs in your area, or they may be different. There are actually many more things I would like to introduce, but I'm afraid I'll get too deep into it, so I'll stop here (lol). In recent years, Obon customs have been gradually simplified and omitted, but in Kesennuma, old customs, words, and culture still remain as a part of life.
It's great to visit cultural facilities, temples, shrines, and other such places while sightseeing and experience the distinctive, visible "culture." However, you may be able to discover the deeper charms of a region by focusing on the intangible "culture" of the area, such as the everyday lifestyles and way of life of the people who live there, as introduced here.
We will have Kesennuma citizens appear as teachers.
You can view the "Teach me, Mr./Ms. XX!" series here.
https://kesennuma-kanko.jp/category/marumarusensei/
For the latest information, please contact the appropriate department.