隣町の奇祭へ。越後浦佐毘沙門堂 裸押合大祭

先日、隣町の浦佐へ行ってきました。約1200年の歴史を持つ「浦佐毘沙門堂裸押合大祭」、日本三大奇祭のひとつです。

毘沙門天にひと目早く拝もうと民衆が押し合ったのが始まりだそうで、その熱気が今も続いているのがすごい。白装束の男たちが「サンヨー、サンヨ！」と掛け声をあげながら押し合う様子は、映像で見るのと全然違って、生で見ると迫力が別物でした。

同じ新潟に住んでいながら、初めて見た光景。こういう祭りが1200年続いているというのも、改めて考えると不思議な気持ちになります。

#日本三大奇祭　#浦佐毘沙門堂裸押合大祭　#毘沙門天

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The other day, I visited Urasa, a town just next to ours. I went to see the Urasa Bishamondo Hadaka Oshiai Festival — one of Japan's three great unusual festivals, with a history of about 1,200 years.

It's said to have started when people began pushing and shoving each other, all eager to be the first to pay their respects to Bishamonten. That same energy is still very much alive today. Men dressed in white push against each other, chanting "Sanyo! Sanyo!" Seeing it in person is nothing like watching it on video — the sound, the heat, the sheer force of it all hits you in a completely different way.

I've lived in Niigata all this time and had never seen it before. Standing there, I couldn't help but feel a little moved — to think that something like this has continued for 1,200 years.

#japantravel
#japantrip
#japanstyle
#UrasaBishamondo
#Bishamonten