Onbashira

Log Riding Festival

 Onbashira is a festival held in May every six years at Suwa Taishi Shrine in Suwa, near Nagano that features the spectacular log-riding ritual. Symbolizing the collection ofpillars to build a shrine, the festival has five parts: 1) transporting the logs 12 kilometers from a mountain slope; 2) riding the logs down the hillside; 3) parading the logs through the streets; 4)transporting them across the Miyagawa River; and 5) erecting the pillars inside the three shrine compound . The last festival was held in 2004. 
 The log riding event is known as Kiotoshi. The logscome from fir trees and are quite large. They average 17 meters in length and weigh around 11 tons. Riding them down the steep hill is quite dangerous not only for the people riding on the logs butalso for the “minders” who try to guide them and the thousands of spectators that gather on the hill to watch. People have been seriously injured, even killed in the event. 
 Eight logs in all aredecorated and dragged with thick straw ropes and let loose on the slope. Records of the festival go back to the 8th century and no one is sure of its origin or original purpose People drink a lot of sakeand chant and blow trumpets when the logs come down. During the river crossing stage, men wearing only loincloths pulls the logs with ropes from one side to the other. The ritual is purifies the logs. The Onbashira festival was held in April 2010. Eight huge logs were harvested to replace the sacred columns at the four corners of the two compounds of the Shimosha (lower shrine) of Suwa GrandShrine in Nagano Prefecture. About 20,000 spectators looked on when three of the logs were slide down the 90-meter-long slope. Kiotoshi (log rolling) is regarded as an opportunity for men to display theircourage.
 In May 2010, two men died after falling 10 meters when a log—17 meters long and three meters around—was being raised with four ropes and three wires. Another man was slightly injuries....