Kanda Chikato Shrine Onbashira Festival

The Kanda Chikato Shrine Onbashira Festival has been passed down in Kanda, Matsumoto City. The Onbashira are prepared over 3 years, then carried through yamadashi and satobiki before being erected—a local tradition passed down through generations.

About Kanda Chikato Shrine Onbashira Festival

The Kanda Chikato Shrine Onbashira Festival is a festival passed down in Kanda, Matsumoto City.

It is held every 7 years to coincide with the Chikato Shrine on May 3.

Rituals and preparations for the Onbashira take place over 3 years before the main event, which is organized by an Onbashira Festival Organizing Committee made up of representatives, neighborhood association officers, and residents.

Participants include household heads, young men, and women who take part in their place.

Festival highlights

The highlights are the many stages of work carried out before the Onbashira are brought in.

The process includes preliminary selection, a ceremonial handshake and betrothal gifts to the tree’s guardian, final selection, the first axe stroke, rope twisting, and making wisteria ropes, before the trees are felled.

The Onbashira are then transported in stages—yamadashi, nakadashi, and satobiki—and finally hauled into position and erected.

A nagamochi also takes part in hauling the Onbashira into position.

Three years of craftsmanship and hauling sustain the Kanda Onbashira Festival

What to expect

The festival begins with rituals such as preliminary selection and the first axe stroke, then proceeds to rope twisting, making wisteria ropes, and felling the trees.

The Onbashira are shaped and left in the mountains; in early spring 2 years beforehand, yamadashi, nakadashi, and satobiki take place.

After satobiki, the Onbashira are set in a designated place in the district. The following year, ropes are twisted, wisteria ropes are made, and ceremonial batons are prepared.

In early spring of the festival year, the trees are shaped to fit the postholes and hauled into position before being erected.

Location and access

Venue and address: Chikato Shrine, Kanda, Matsumoto City

Address Kanda, Matsumoto City

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Dates and season

Season: May 3
Frequency: Every 7 years

Accommodation and hotels PR

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Nearby attractions

Museums · 美術館の汎用イラスト（AI生成 · 実際の施設ではありません） — Illustration for reference

飛騨山脈南部の長野県松本市と岐阜県高山市にまたがる山

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Photo and data sources

写真：Alpsdake / Public domain

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Origins and History of Kanda Chikato Shrine Onbashira Festival

The Kanda Chikato Shrine Onbashira Festival is a custom passed down by Chikato Shrine’s ujiko and is designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Matsumoto City.

It was designated on Heisei 12 (2000) June 30.

The festival is held every 7 years in conjunction with the reisai in the Year of the Rabbit and the Year of the Rooster, with rituals and preparations carried out over 3 years before the main event.

The fact that it is organized by people from local households, ujiko representatives, neighborhood association officers, and residents also shows how this tradition is rooted in the community and passed down.

Official information

Matsumoto City website, “Kanda Chikato Shrine Onbashira Festival”