Northern Japan · Yamagata · Tsuruoka

Shōreisai, Mount Haguro

羽黒山松例祭

On New Year’s Eve, on the summit of Mount Haguro, two mountain ascetics come to the end of a hundred days’ seclusion, and their power is tested by fire.

31 December 2026 – 1 January 2027

64 days away

Every year, 31 December, for 2 days

Future dates: 31 December 2026 · 31 December 2027 · 31 December 2028

Origin

The closing rite of the "winter peak", one of the seasonal austerities of the Haguro *yamabushi* — the mountain ascetics of Shugendō. According to the shrine, the winter peak is a retreat of abstinence, waiting for the spirit of the grain to take hold in rice and the other staple crops, and it is kept by ascetics of Tōge, the village at the foot of the mountain. Two senior ascetics chosen for the role — the *Matsuhijiri* — set up altars in their own homes and stay shut away for ninety-nine days, praying for the grain spirit to descend into them. On the hundredth day — New Year’s Eve — the power they have gained is put to the test. Since the Meiji era this closing rite has been called the Shōreisai. It is designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

What to look for

On the night of the 31st, the ascetics attending each of the two Matsuhijiri divide into two sides, cast as crow and hare, and match their powers in the *kenkurabe*. Then comes the *ōtaimatsu-biki*: young men of the village drag two great torches — standing for the plague demons that blight the crops — out of the sacred ground and burn them, and which side wins and how the torches burn foretell the next year’s harvest and catch. At midnight, in the *hi no uchikae*, a new and pure fire is struck to replace the old, fouled by burning the demons. Earlier, on the afternoon of the 31st, pieces cut from a great torch are thrown to the crowd; hung from the eaves at home, they are said to keep evil away.

How to watch

The shrine says that anyone may watch and take part in the rites in the main hall, the courtyard and the *kariya* hall. The festival is carried by the parishioners of Tōge.

If you go

It runs from the morning of 31 December into the small hours of New Year’s Day; the part to see is the night of the 31st — the *kenkurabe* and the torch-dragging — through to the new fire at midnight. It all happens on the summit of Mount Haguro, outdoors, on a winter night. By car, the Haguro toll road climbs to the summit, but the shrine warns that in winter it is not cleared of snow at night or early in the morning, so watch the conditions. Buses from Tsuruoka reach the summit only by day. Climbing the stone steps on foot takes an hour to an hour and a half, and they are slippery with snow. At Tōge, at the foot of the mountain, there is a street of pilgrim lodgings (*shukubō*).

Where

Sanjin Gōsaiden, Mount Haguro

Tsuruoka, Yamagata

Open in maps

Sources

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