YAMATO-KORIYAMA, NARA — A traditional festival at a local shrine in this western Japanese city, observed annually on August 16th for over nine decades, will now shift to May 5th due to the increasingly intense summer temperatures recently experienced.
The Meta Shrine located in Yamato-Koriyama, Nara Prefecture, honors Hieda no Are, believed to be the one who passed down Japan’s earliest recorded work, “Kojiki” (Records of Ancient Matters), through oral tradition. Initiated in 1930 to celebrate Hieda no Are as "the deity of narration,” the Are Festival has been conducted annually without fail, including the day following the conclusion of World War II on August 15, 1945. This event now celebrates its 96th anniversary this year.
Children adorned as shrine maidens present the "Hieda no Mai" traditional dance inside a prayer hall. Furthermore, young girls, some even pre-school age, twirl together in circles within the shrine premises, clad in summery yukatas and woven straw hats. This celebration has evolved into an anticipated attraction drawing crowds beyond just local residents.
To cope with Japan’s intense summer temperatures, the shrine has progressively enhanced its measures against heatstroke by reducing the duration of events, advancing their start times, and setting up shade tents along with big fans. Despite these efforts, at this year’s festival, youngsters were observed rapidly drinking water post-dance routines, indicating an elevated risk of heat exhaustion even during rehearsals prior to the main event. The shrine attributed the shift in the celebration date to Children's Day on May 5th as being “aimed at ensuring the long-term safety and continuity” of the festivities.
(Original Japanese version by Hitoshi Kumagai, Oji Resident Bureau)
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