Fukushima Prefectural Gokoku Shrine Spring Annual Festival Hana(flowers) Festival
Tsutsuko-hiki" Festival (Hobara-machi) 　

"Tsutsuko-hiki" Festival (Hobara-machi)


Hobara-machi is located to the north of Fukushima-shi and the center of Date-gun. Fruit growing and knitwear industry is flourishing in Hobara-machi.
"Tsutsuko" means "tawara" (a straw bag). "Tsutsuko" has no rope and people compete in pulling it from the three directions: the upper part, the lower part, and the central part.

　The 5th and 10th of each month used to be the market days in Hobara-machi and were crowded with people. The market day was chosen by "Tsutsuko-hiki" at the festival on January 25. Young people chosen from "Kami-machi"(the upper part of the town), "Shimo-machi"(the lower part), and "Naka-machi"(central part) fought against each other. And the winner was able to hold a market that year.

About 270 years ago, people were suffered from "the Famine of Kyoho" and consequently farmers had to eat their husk of rice. The feudal lord, Matsudaira Izuminokami was distressed at the Famine. Hearing the divine message, the lord gave his husk of rice to the farmers. Next year they had a bumper rice crop. Thankful to the feudal lord Matsudaira and the god, the farmers presented their new husk of rice to the god, celebrating a good crop. Since then, "Thutsuko-hiki" festival has been held as a Shinto ritual of Itsukushima Shrine, praying for a good harvest.

　Tsutsuko-hiki" is held in the first week's Sunday of March. It is the festival to admire the feudal lord Matsudaira who helped the farmers in the famine. People also tell the year's bumper crop. The day before the festival, parishioners of the Shrine make "tsutsuko" which is made of 800 sheaves of straw. Two "sho" (an old Japanese unit of capacity equal to about 1.8 liters) of "okowa"(steamed glutinous rice) is put into the "tsutsuko". It becomes "mochi"(rice cake) while "tsutsuko" is pulled by people from the three directions of the town. The chief priest of the Shrine gives its "mochi" to the worshipers. "Thutsuko" is 3 meters long, one and half meters in diameter and weighs 800 kilograms. It is said that if people dedicate "tsutsuko"'s straw to the god, sick people will be cured, farmers will have a good crop and sericulture industry will be prosperous. "Tsutsuko-hiki" festival is chosen one of the ten unique festivals in Fukushima. Brave men pulling "tsutsuko" in the cold wind attract people.