Enburi (Aomori Prefecture) えんぶり

Ritualized Waking of the Gods through Song and Dance… Turned Tourist Attraction

Enburi had been the ritual the farmers performed during the Chinese New Year to wake up the gods of the fields and give energy to the earth or a healthy sowing of the fields. During the early Meiji period the practice was stopped, then later the date was moved to coincide with prayers at Ise shrine. Today, it is really popular and people come from far and wide to see the event.

Enburi lasts three days; from February 17th to the 20th. It consists of men dressed as highly abstracted horses dancing in the fields. They wave about a tool called an ‘Eburi’ that is used to flatten the earth. It is believed that the name Enburi comes from this. This is a tradition that you probably won’t see anywhere else and is a window back to a different time in Japanese history and way of life.