Hikawa Shrine Festival in Akasaka area

Orange
Sep 15, 2019
7 min read

Updated: Jan 1, 2020

Japanese is following after English.

Festival day: Mid-September every year.

祭礼日：毎年9月中旬

Japanese page https://www.akasakahikawa.or.jp/hikawasai/

The history of the festival

The festival at the Akasaka Hikawa Shrine paraded around the shrine territorial area taking the form of 2 portable shrines with guarding by 13 Edo-style floats as shrine followers in 21 towns in Shrine territorial area in Akasaka town in Edo period.

That scene can be seen in the picture of “Parade of Float in the Festival” displayed in the shrine worship hall.

The biggest festivals in Edo are “Whole Country Festival (天下祭)” and “Goverment Business Festival (御用祭)” by Sanno Gongen Shrine and Kanda Myojin Shrine, and according to “Ranking of Festivals in the Country”, the festival scale at Akasaka Hikawa Shrine was the third largest in Edo (old Tokyo) next to these 2 shrines' festivals, and the fourth in East Japan.

祭礼の歴史

江戸時代の赤坂氷川神社の祭礼は、宮神輿2基を氏子赤坂21ケ町の江戸型山車13本が警固する形をとって神領内を巡行していました。

その情景は、神社拝殿に納められている「祭礼山車行列額絵」に見ることができます。

江戸で1番大きい祭礼は、山王権現・神田明神の「天下祭」「御用祭」ですが、「諸国祭礼番付」によれば赤坂氷川神社の祭礼はその2社に次ぐ江戸（江都）で3番手、東日本で4番手に位置する規模のものでした。

Making Newly Miyamikoshi portable shrines

(August 2016)

In the Edo period, this shrine originally owned two Miyamikoshi (Shrine owned portable shrine).

But one was handed over and the other was burned out by the Tokyo air raid.

Therefore, after the war, at the Akasaka Hikawa Festival, parade was composed by only the town council's portable shrines.

In order to more accurately reproduce the Edo festival unique to the Akasaka Hikawa Festival, Edo-syle "Bebop portable shrines and march Floats" travel together, in August 2016, “Shrine's portable shrines” have renewed in line with the 300th anniversary of Tokugawa Yoshimune (8th Shogun of Edo government).

According to the materials, Miyagami Pass at that time had a trolley size of 5 shaku, 151.5 cm (unit of distance approximately 1 shaku equal to 30.3 cm) and an estimated weight of 1,300 kg, and has been pulled by cow.

However, it is not realistic to make a new one with that size and weight.

Therefore, the figure and shape are reproduced as much as possible at that time, and they are newly made with 121.2 cm architrave wheel size and a weight of over 1,000 kg. It is a portable shrine with a total lacquer coating and a Karahafu-style(*) unique in Japan roof, and there is a sculpture of a picture frame of the festival float at the trunk panel.

As a result of the completion of these shrine's portable shrines, a collaborated tour of portable shrines and Edo-style floats came true for the first time in 100 years at the Akasaka Hikawa Festival in September 2016.

(*)Karahafu is a type of gable with a style peculiar to Japan.

宮神輿の新調（平成28年8月）

江戸時代、当初2基の宮神輿を所有しておりましたが、1基は譲渡、もう1基は東京大空襲により焼失してしまいました。

そのため、戦後より赤坂氷川祭では、町会神輿のみの渡御となりました。

「神輿舞い、山車が往く」宮神輿と江戸型山車が連合巡行するという、赤坂氷川祭ならではの江戸の祭礼をより正確に再現すべく、平成28年8月、徳川吉宗公将軍就任300年にあわせ、「宮神輿」を新調いたしました。

資料によれば、当時の宮神輿は、台輪寸法5尺・推定重量1,300kgあり、牛で曳いて巡行していました。しかし当時の大きさと重さのまま新調するのは現実的ではありません。

そこで、姿・かたちは限りなく当時のものを再現し、台輪寸法4尺、重量1,000kg超の規格で新調いたしました。

総漆塗、唐破風屋根の神輿で、胴羽目部分には祭礼山車行列額絵の彫刻を配します。

この宮神輿の完成により、平成28年9月の赤坂氷川祭にて、宮神輿と江戸型山車の連合巡行が実に100年ぶりに実現いたしました。

About 山車 Dashi (float)

At the festival, Dashi is a float decorated with mountains, halberds, dolls, flowers, etc., and which is carried by a cow or people. Dashi is counted as one (hito tsu) or two (futa tsu), and the origin of the float was “標山 Shime Yama(*)” that have paraded 大嘗祭 Onie no matsuri Festival(*) at Heian Era (794-1191). It is said that it’s derived from the name of the unknitting part of bamboo knitting that the center of halberd. Called “Dashi” placed on the halberd at the center of the float. Float is holy vehicle for deity and god same as portable shrine, float is not just festive tools.

*Shime Yama (標山)*

標山 is the place or target that deity may decent.

*Onie no matsuri Festival (大嘗祭)*

大嘗祭 is the first ceremonial offering of rice by newly-enthroned Emperor

The Akasaka Hikawa Festival floats are the most well-known halberd style floats in Edo-style floats, with two or three-layer structures on top of the two-wheel barrow.

This uppermost part is a doll, the second layer is a frame surrounded by a decorative curtain, and a doll is created which can move up and down in this second layer frame. In addition, the parts of doll and decoration has a two-stage mechanism which is folded, and the doll is “pushing out” from the bottom part.

Is supposed to doll sit down on these two layers. It is said that this is for a contrivance when entering the gate of Edo Castle for Shogun (general) inspection.

Eventually, the floats had not entered Edo Castle at the festival of Akasaka Hikawa Shrine, but the fact that the shrine had 13 floats which were large in scale, it is a proof that 8th Shogun general of Tokugawa Yoshimune respected deities very much and the shrine was administered under Edo government.

山車とは

祭礼の際、山・鉾・人形・花などを飾り付け、牛で曳いたり人が担ぐ曳き物で、1本、2本と数え、山車の語源は平安時代、大嘗祭の際に曳かれた標山に由来し、神様の依り代や、山車の中心にあった鉾の上につけられた「出し」という竹の編み残された部分の名称に由来すると言われています。

山車も神輿同様、単なるお祭りの道具でなく、神聖な神様の乗り物なのです。

赤坂氷川祭の山車は、江戸型山車の中で最も知られる鉾台型山車で、二輪車の上に二層または三層の構造物があります。

この最上部が人形の部分であり、次の層は飾り幕に取り囲まれた枠で、人形はこの二層目の枠内を上下できるようにつくられています。

更にこの人形・飾り幕の部分は折り畳まれた状態で、最下部の部分から人形が「せり出す」という、二段上下可変式のカラクリ（機構）をもつもので、二段の台の上に人形が座るようになっています。

これは将軍の上覧に供するために江戸城の門を入るときの工夫であると言われています。

結果として、赤坂氷川神社の祭礼では山車が江戸城に入城することはありませんでしたが、13本もの山車を有し、規模が大きいものであったことは、吉宗公が敬神し、幕府の管理下にあった証なのです。

Revival of Akasaka Hikawa floats

This Akasaka Hikawa float was gradually no-featured from the festival rite along with the modernization, and had been preserved as if they had slept in the land of Akasaka.

It was in 2004 (16t of Heisei Era) that the movement occurred to revive the nine floats that remained miraculously.

The motivation was they want to inherit the precious cultural heritage and the voguish of Edo to future generations, make the ties of local people more stable, and use them to promote community development, through revitalizing the floats, the priests of Akasaka Hikawa Shrine had played a central role.

Through the efforts of people as one, the shrine floats have met with general approbation from not only the 24 Parishioner Town Associations, local shopping districts and companies, but also Minato Ward Government.

In September 2008, we are succeed in launching “NPO Akasaka Hikawa Float Preservation Society” aims to reactivation, parade, popularization and enlightenment of Akasaka Hikawa floats.

And after that, float itself, doll, and purple curtain had been repaired one by one.

As of 2016 (28th of Heisei era), all nine dolls had been completely repaired, and the reconstruction of four floats with five kinds had been completed.

赤坂氷川山車の復興

この赤坂氷川山車ですが、近代化とともに次第に祭礼で取り沙汰されることがなくなり、赤坂の地に眠るように保存されていました。

奇跡的に残存していた9本の山車を復活させようという動きが起こったのは、平成16年（2004）のことでした。

赤坂氷川神社の神職らが中心となり、山車を復活させることで貴重な文化遺産、江戸の粋を後世に守り伝え、地域の人々の結びつきをより揺るぎないものにし、まちづくりの推進に役立てたいとの思いがきっかけでした。

思いをひとつにする人々の働きかけにより、氏子24町会、地域の商店街や企業、さらには港区の賛同を得られ、平成19年（2008）9月、赤坂氷川山車の修復・巡行・普及啓発などを事業内容とする「NPO法人赤坂氷川山車保存会」の発足にごぎつけました。

その後、山車本体や人形、水引幕をひとつずつ修復していき、平成28年現在、9体すべての人形の完全修復が完了、山車本体は5種類4本の復興製作が完了しました。

Current Akasaka Hikawa Festival

Since the restoration of Akasaka Hikawa floats, the existence value of the Akasaka Hikawa Festival has been increased.

Currently the parade by plural floats and town society portable shrines become mainstream and the festival has completed to grow into 3000 participants and total 20000 people including audiences scale of festival.

The festival have become a new symbol of the city based on historical background with becoming one by local residents, shopping districts, companies, city governments, etc.

It becomes possible to be a combined tour with shrine's portable shrines, which was newly made in 2016, and we are working together as a community to further develop of creating community.