OMBASHIRA MATSURI

'Sacred pillar matsuri'. A symbolic rebuilding of the shrine, rather than an actual rebuilding of the central structures (see Shikinen sengu). At theSuwa taisha, Nagano, this rite takes place every six years, in the year of the monkey and the year of the tiger. Large fir trees are ritually cut down, taken to the shrine and erected in the grounds to represent 'pillars' of the new shrine. Each stage of the process (cutting down, dragging out, parading and erecting the timber) is carried out with public participation and formal rituals and parades, in much the same manner as the rebuilding of theIseShrine every twenty years. A similar rite takes place at other shrines.