(Please scroll down for the English version.)
上社での新年
丹生川上神社上社の手伝いを始める前に、宮司さんに白衣を着せていただいた。何層もの白い布に包まれ、自分の行動が普段と違って感じた。世界が一際静かになった。しかし、それについて考える余裕がなく、早速宮司さんの手伝いに取り掛かった。
足袋と草履に慣れていない僕は砂利の上を歩いたり、階段をのぼったりして、足の長い宮司さんについて行こうとした。大晦日の朝から宮司さんの孫と一緒に本殿を掃除して、昼からテントを立てて、休憩所のストーブを準備した。竹箒で砂利を道から掃いてから、夕方の前に家に帰り、数時間仮眠した。
大晦日の夜から神社に戻り、白衣に着替えた。さらに寒くなったから、村民ととんど焼の火を囲んだ。「よう燃えとる、よう燃えとる」と一人は言った。零時からみなさんは本殿に入り、宮司さんにお祓いしていただいた。本殿の三階までの階段が金で光っていた。龍神である高龗大神（ルビ：たかおかみのおおかみ）と色とりどりのお供え物は、みなさんを新年へ歓迎してくださった。最後に、僕は参拝者にお神酒を注いだ。その後、参拝者はテントで暖まりながら、日本酒を飲んだり、おつまみを齧ったりした。
数時間深く仮眠して、鮮やかな夢を見てから、元日の朝六時前に目覚めた。宮司さんは受付窓で座ったまま、ずっと参拝者を待っていた。晴れた空に恵まれて、初日の出が上流の山々の裏からゆっくり上った。僕は宮司さんと奥さんと一緒に年越し蕎麦を食べてから、受付窓で参拝者を待った。地元の知り合いが来たが、大阪府や兵庫県からの参拝者が多くて、ご祈祷、朱印、お守り、おみくじ、甘酒を求めて、初詣でに来た。この数日は神社の一番忙しい時期らしい。寝不足の宮司さんと奥さんはバタバタしながら、いつも明るい笑顔で参拝者を迎えて、ゆっくりお話を聞いた。
神社の手伝いの最終日は少し寒くなった。宮司さんは朝から本殿の隣の水神社でお祭りを２回行った。昼から成人式の七人がお参りに来た。みなさんが本殿の前で写真を撮っていた時、淡い雪が降り始めた。日が山の端に差し掛かり、僕は竹箒で砂利を石畳から掃いた。帰る前に、僕も百円玉を赤い販売機に入れて、おみくじを引いた。
New Year at Kajisha
Before I started helping at Niu Kawakami Shrine Kamisha, I was dressed into white clothing by the reverend. Wrapped in layers of white cloth, my actions felt different than usual. The world became a shade quieter. However, I did not have time to think about that, quickly got to helping out the reverend.
As I was not used to the tabi socks or zouri sandals, I did my best keeping up with the reverend while we walked across gravel or climbed up and down the steps. In the morning, I cleaned the main hall of the shrine with the reverend’s grandchildren. In the afternoon, I helped set up the tent and prepared the stove heaters in the rest area. After sweeping the gravel from the paths with a bamboo broom, I went home just before evening and napped for a few hours.
I went back to the shrine the night of December 31st and changed into the white clothing. It was even colder than before, so I gathered around the tondoyaki fire with other villagers. “It’s burning good, burning good!” one person said. After midnight everyone entered the main hall to be purified by the reverend. The steps leading up to the third floor of the main hall glistened in gold. The dragon god Takaokami-no-okami and the colorful offerings welcomed everyone into the New Year. Finally, I poured the sacred saké for our worshippers. After that, the worshippers warmed themselves in the tent while drinking saké and munching on snacks.
After taking a deep nap for a few hours and seeing a vibrant dream, I woke up just before 6 a,m, on the first day of the year. The reverend was still sitting at the office window, waiting for worshippers. We were blessed with clear weather, and the first sunrise of the year slowly climbed up from behind the upstream mountains. After eating toshikoshi soba with the reverend and his wife, I waited for worshippers at the office window. Some locals I knew came, but there were many people who came all the way from Osaka or Hyogo Pref. for prayers, shuin stamps, amulets, fortunes, and amazaké on their first shrine visits of the year. These few days are the busiest of the year for the shrine. While the sleep-deprived reverend and his wife were busy running around, they greeted every worshipper with a bright smile and took the time to lend an ear.
My last day helping at the shrine was a little colder. That morning the reverend performed a ceremony twice at the small Sui Shrine next to the main hall. In the afternoon, the seven young villagers of the Coming-of-Age Ceremony paid a visit to the shrine. While they were all taking a photo in front of the main hall, a light snow started falling. As the sun approached the edge of the mountain, I swept the gravel from the path with the bamboo broom. Before I went home, I slipped a 100 yen coin into the red vending machine and received a fortune.
