Oni makes fun of Tengu at Toyohashi

There are many different kinds of Oni in Japan, each with a unique characterization. They often bestow good fortune on people even though they are Onis, and the distinction between Onis and deities is often unclear. This time, the Oni is a bad one. As expected, he challenges the warrior deity, the symbol of goodness, to a fight. His appearance looks as if he is making fun of the warrior deity, which is why people commonly call this ” Oni no Karakai” (Karakai means to make fun of). The demon, whose body is as round as a drum, provokes the warrior god. The warrior god remains calm and collected. As many as 60,000 people will gather here to watch this battle.

Date: February 10th-11th, every year
Location: 3-17 Hatcho-dori 八町通り, Toyohashi-shi, Aichi prefecture
Access: From Toyohashi Station on the JR or Meitetsu 名鉄 Line, board a streetcar at Toyohashi Ekimae 豊橋駅前 and disembark at the Shiyakusho-mae 市役所前 stop. Or get off at Toyohashi Koen-mae 豊橋公園前 stop. Approximately 3 minutes on foot.

The history of the festival

According to the writings, the shrine was founded around the 10th century.It is unclear whether or not events were held at that time. However, it can be assumed that there was something like a New Year’s Eve event to ward off demons. It is estimated that it took its present form around the 16th century. There are still some old Oni masks donated by the lords of the time. The shogun who opened the Edo shogunate told his vassals that he saw a demon festival in 1554. It is clear that by that time the festival had already taken on its present form.

Outline

Eve of the festival

The festival has a fixed date every year: February 10. The day before that is the evening festival.
The main character on the previous day is the Blue Demon, a new character in the festival that first appeared 60 years ago. His appearance is almost the same as the red demon.
First, a blue Oni comes to the shrine in the morning. Then, one of the biggest incidents in Japanese mythology, the “Opening of Ama-no-Iwato” is performed. One of the main characters in the opening of Ama-no-Iwato is “Tajikara-o”, the most powerful creature in the world of deities who pushes open the door. He plays this role. After that, the group of the blue Oni goes out to the town. After this, Kagura and Taiko performances are held at the shrine, as well as a rehearsal for the unmasked child Oni.
At night, the Tengu and the red Oni practice for the last time without their masks on. After this, all that is left is the day of the performance.

On the day

Finally, the day of the event. Kagura and various other events are held at the shrine from the morning. The main events of the day are the Tengu and the Red Oni. The first child Oni arrives at the shrine in the morning where the Kagura is held. The child Oni is about twelve or thirteen years old, but is the same as the adult Oni. The weight of their costumes is about half, but it is still about 10 kg. The child Oni throws a special candy called “Tankiri,” and then goes out into the town.
At the same time, the Tengu and the red Oni do their final purification and prepare to put on their costumes. The costumes weigh about 20 kilograms. If it rains, it will weigh twice as much. Once the costumes are put on, they cannot be taken off easily, so they have to keep them on for about 12 hours until the end of the festival. Therefore, when they drink water, they have to keep it on their mouths.

Highlights

2:00 p.m. When the drums sounded, the two parties finally appeared in the precincts. By this time people are filling the precincts of the temple. On the side, a black Oni is waiting in the wings to act as a judge. He never speaks. He is very unassuming, but important.
The red Oni provokes the tengu this way and that. The tengu, however, is unmoved. Then, the red Oni, annoyed with the situation, begins to perform a secret technique. The official explanation is that this secret art is a product of a generous age. First, he throws a tool in his hand, but next, he throws snot at them.

At this point, the red Oni finally runs out of strength and flees with his guards in tow. In doing so, he scatters candy called “tankiri candy. This is the highlight of the festival. Tankiri candy scattered with white powder. The whole area turns completely white and chaos ensues. As it is, the red Oni moves out of the precincts and into town. From here, the nine-kilometer-long, nine-hour-long procession begins, which lasts until nightfall.

Even after the red ogre has left the precincts of the shrine, each township performs a variety of kagura. These are valuable performing arts that have retained much of their original form from the Middle Ages. The tengu also goes out to wash away the town by a route different from that of the Oni, after performing a ritual to predict the harvest. This is the start of a long, long journey into the night.

A peek behind the scenes

How do we decide who will play the roles of oni and tengu, the two biggest protagonists of the festival? Basically, it’s whoever wants to play them. There are no particular rules. It can be any boy from the town. However, there is an unwritten rule that once you have played a role, you must be involved for seven years. That’s what they do before they play the tengu, two roles before they play the tengu, and four roles after they finish. That is how our predecessors have kept the festival alive for so long.

They also say that role-playing begins the day after the festival. Some people abstain from alcohol, others start running. There are no rules. It all depends on the individual. However, the costumes weigh more than 20 kg and cannot be easily taken off once put on. They are not allowed to go to the restroom on the day of the festival, so they are required to drink a minimum amount of water. By the end of the day, the weight of the costume will be nearly 30 kg due to sweat absorption.

From February 1, they are not allowed to eat food prepared by young women, nor are they allowed to talk to them. Every day, they bathe in water to purify themselves.
Only those who have experienced the role in the past are allowed to help the young women put on their costumes on the day of the festival. The rest of the townspeople have their own rules. This is how the festival has been and will continue to be handed down.

Touohashi official https://www.honokuni.or.jp/toyohashi/en/festival/000018.html