New Dosojin lit by swaying fire of Dondo-yaki bonfire. This rugged-faced guardian drives away evil sprits from village (in Nagano Prefecture)
Kotaro Yamada
– Ashinoshiri Dosojin (Nagano Prefecture) –
Ashinoshiri villagers in Ooka district of Nagano-shi, Nagano Prefecture, have a huge grim-looking guardian that sits at the border of the village. It’s an enormous mask of Dosojin, a Shinto guardian for the community made of bundles of straws and mounted on a stone marker. The face with big eyebrows and mustache is intimidating but somewhat charming and striking. Every year on January 7, local villagers replace it with a new one and hold Ashinoshiri Dosojin Festival to pray for good health and good harvest over the new year.
Villagers making mouth using Shimenawa Shinto ropes. Dosojin’s face is different every year as it’s made all by hand
“Why don’t we make the mouth a bit bigger?” “This is good. Very handsome!” This year again, Ashinoshiri villagers gathered on January 7 to remove the old mask and create a new one. All the parts for the Dosojin from eyes, a nose and eyebrows to a crown are made of straws and straw ropes, which are brought by the villagers after using for new year decorations (Matsukazari). The parts are carefully assembled by hand to make the face strong enough to scare off evil spirits. As the Dosojin is made by hand using recycled Matsukazari, its face is different every year. This year, it took 1.5 hours to complete the new mask. Then at night, villagers gathered near the Dosojin again to have Dondo-yaki, a traditional event to gather around a powerfully-burning bonfire to wish for happiness in the new year. The villagers burnt the rest of the new year decorations and the old Dosojin to return them to nature.
Old Dosojin has different face after being exposed to wind and rain for one year
The tradition of making Dosojin mask dates back to the Meiji Era. Today, a group of the villagers called Ashinoshiri Dosojin Festival Preservation Society is leading the efforts to keep the tradition. It holds lectures on how to make Shimenawa sacred Shinto ropes to preserve the traditional skills, for example. Chairman of the society, Mitsuya Ishii, 48, came to the village 15 years ago to start working in the agriculture and forestry industry. “I still remember how deeply I was moved when I first saw the Dosojin. I believe that he will protect us this year again so that we can continue in good health,” he said as he looked at the brand-new Dosojin.
Stone marker under Dosojin
(Jan. 11, 2015)