The annual ‘Polished Rod’ event (or Bouzuki) in Kamiyama occurred a couple of days ago in the season known as O-Bon.  It’s a practice that has continued since…I’m not sure exactly when, but a long time ago.  Back then a group of villagers (almost always the men in the village) used the polished rod to compact the earth thus providing a solid foundation upon which the local people could build a temple or shrine.  It’s quite a spectacle and i’m sure alongside it’s practical functionality it held a religious significance for the villagers as well.  Clearly there are phallic implications so perhaps it’s part of a fertility ritual?

The action consisted of two main ‘singers’ who stand opposite each other, either side of the square, wooden frame which holds the polished rod upright.  These singers then take it in turns to chant and sing, then the team of men holding ropes perform a little dance and a chant and the ropes are pulled and the rod is raised and the men yell and the rod falls to earth and you feel a thump in your guts.  The costume is important, the head piece (yellow towel) is important.  I’m not sure about the significance of the gourd.

Obviously these days we have mechanical contraptions for compacting soil so the festival performs a different function: entertainment.  I heard that competitive polished rod events have been held in previous years.  Could they use a heavier polished rod and less ropes/less men?  Perhaps it involves raising the rod as high as possible…