Sutsuupunaka

Festival highlights

A highlight is the ritual of sacred songs and sacred sake held at the island’s four ritual sites.

Sake is poured from the bataset, which holds the sacred sake, into the tsunuzara, and religious officials, elders, village officers, and others offer prayers.

Guests also receive sacred sake reverently while singing sacred songs, then raise the tsunuzara to give thanks for a good harvest and pray for bounty in the coming season.

During the final two days, sacred songs were also sung until late at night in homes associated with the ritual sites.

Source: 民具と祭祀－多良間島のスツウプナカ－ | 学芸員コラム | 沖縄県立博物館・美術館（おきみゅー）

Sacred songs and prayers for a bountiful harvest echo across the four ritual sites

What to expect

Roles are assigned in preparation for the festival, and the rice-based sacred sake is made over seven days and the sweet potato-based sacred sake over five days.

On festival days, sacred sake is put in a bataset, then poured into a tsunuzara as part of a sacred-song ritual.

Women serving as religious officials, known as tsukasa, male religious officials, elders, village officers, and others are invited to the ritual sites. After prayers, sacred songs and the exchange of sacred sake continue.

Location and access

Venue and address

Nagashigā, Fudayā, Uiyā, and Arēki (Tarama Village)

Source: きょう「スツウプナカ」／多良間村 – 宮古毎日新聞社ホームページ -宮古島の最新ニュースが満載！-

Event venue 沖縄県多良間村 ナガシガー

This map uses the venue name. Check the official guide for the event area and entrances.

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Dates and season

Season

Fifth month of the lunar calendar

Frequency

An observance held in the fifth month of the lunar calendar

Accommodation and hotels PR

Origins and History of Sutsuupunaka

Sutsuupunaka continues as a ritual on Tarama Island to give thanks for a bountiful harvest and pray for a good harvest the following year.

In Showa 58May 26, Tarama Village designated Sutsuupunaka as a village-designated intangible folk cultural property.

The village’s cultural property list also includes the former residence of Sutsuupunaka’s founder.

A 2019 survey recorded that roles began to be assigned two months before the festival, along with the folk implements used in the rites and the practice of sacred songs.

Official information

Tarama Village Official Website, “Sutsuupunaka”

Sutsuupunaka at a Glance

Sutsuupunaka is a festival of gratitude and prayer for a bountiful harvest, held in Tarama Village in the fifth month of the lunar calendar.

At the four ritual sites of Nagashigā, Fudayā, Uiyā, and Arēki, sacred-song rites are performed with offerings of sacred sake.

Ritual tools such as the bataset and tsunuzara, prayers by religious officials and elders, and sacred songs and music convey gratitude for a good harvest and hopes for the coming season’s bounty.