Events

Kuromatsu Matsuri

Summertime is Kaijin Matsuri time round here. Kaijin are kami associated with the sea, and coastal villages and villages on major rivers will have their main annual matsuri now, rather than in the Fall like most agricultural villages. Kuromatsu is a fishing village not far from Sakurae, and they have a unique kind of Matsuri to which I was invited.
The roads of the village, all two of them, are lined end to end with shimenawa along both sides, signifying that Matsuri is taking place. The shrine is in the middle of the village, right next to the beach, and is decorated with bamboo, flags, and lanterns. There are taiko drums and a mikoshi ( sacred palanquin) and people coming and going with preparations.
There is something unusual about this shrine. It doesnt appear to have a Honden. The Honden is the structure that the kami inhabit when they descend. It is usually behind and often slightly raised above the Haiden, the main building. The shrine actually does have a Honden,... but it is about 2 kilometres away, 500 metres offshore on the tiny uninhabited island of Oshima.
The Kami enshrined here is Ichikishimahime, daughter of Susano, and the oldest of the three Munakata Princesses. Just off Oshima is a large rock protruding from the sea. The story is that when Ichikishimahime heard that she was going to be enshrined on Oshima, she was really excited and proud because Oshima means "Great Island", but when she got here and saw just how small it really was, her tears formed the rock.
 
Back on the mainland, the beach in front of the shrine has been set up ready for the evenings activities. An area about 150 metres long has been cordoned off by bamboo and shimenawa, with lanterns hanging from the shimenawa. At either end of the space 2 Torii have been erected.
 
At one end there are 2 "boats" on wheels. These will hold the Taiko (big drums) that will be played tonight.
A procession of the men of the village, headed by the priest, leave the shrine carrying the Mikoshi and walk to the little harbor where a boat is waiting.
The boat is purpose-built for carrying the Mikoshi to and from the Honden on the island. It is towed out by fishing boats, and once there the priest "calls down" the Kami and then is transported back to the mainland.
In a normal Matsuri, the Mikoshi would now be carried around the village, but here something unusual happens. Starting between the drums in the space set up on the beach, to the accompaniment of the wildly pounded drums, the young men with the Mikoshi on their shoulders start forward, but after a few steps slow down, veer to the side, then stop. They back up and start again, but each time the same thing happens.
It is as if there is a force preventing them from leaving the sacred space. Until 2 in the morning, the men keep trying to carry the Mikoshi out, but they never get thgrough the Torii. As far as I know, this is the only place such a thing happens, and no-one seems to know what it means or when it began.