伝承文化をたくさん味わえる平泉の春祭り

五月の平泉は楽しいよ！夏に向かって気候もだいぶん暖かくなってきましたが、本格的な暑さにはまだ至っていません。周りは新緑も鮮やかに見えてきて、平泉の自然景色を楽しむのに向いている季節です。

おまけに、平泉の歴史文化を代表するイベントや祭りも盛り沢山。その一つは、大人気の「春の藤原まつり」です。

藤原氏とは、１２世紀に平泉を拠点に、四代約１００年を渡って豊かに繁栄した当時の平泉を統治した豪族のこと。昔の平泉は、北日本の中心的な存在でした。当時の京の都や中央都市の人々は、東北地方はまるで辺境の世界そのものとイメージを持っていました。歴史上、現代の岩手や東北の呼び方からもはっきりわかります。（陸奥の国：「陸の果ての国」、みちのく：「道の終わりよりも遠い」、奥州：「奥まるところ」）

回りからそう見えた当時の平泉でしたが、平泉の誕生はとても重大な出来事で、日本の歴史に大きな影響をもたらしました。春と秋に行う藤原まつりは、その藤原氏と当時の平泉の文化伝承を毎年偲びます。

今年の各おまつりはコロナ予防のため、残念ながら例年よりは縮小型で行う予定のため、主要な行事は少ないけれど、例年は伝承芸能や音楽の演奏がたくさんあります。しかし、その中で最も大勢の人が集まるのは大人気の「源義経東下り行列」です。

源義経が兄の頼朝の憤然から逃れ、平泉へたどり着いた様子を再現した大行列で、それを楽しみにして見に来る人も多く、毎年の義経役には若手俳優を招いているので、ファンの皆さんも好きな俳優さんが演じる義経役を見逃さないようにやってきます。

May can be an exciting time in Hiraizumi. The weather continues to warm as we march towards summer in earnest, but with the worst of the heat still yet to come, it’s a prime time to enjoy the outdoor scenery, especially with all the colorful fresh greenery bursting out everywhere you look.

Of course, it’s also the season for a variety of cultural events, including one of our most popular draws of the entire year, the Spring Fujiwara Festival.

The Fujiwara clan were the founders of historical Hiraizumi in the early 12^th century, and four generations of Fujiwara ruled over the area, overseeing a wealthy, powerful, and flourishing kingdom for approximately 100 years. Old Hiraizumi was a golden land in northern Japan, a region that was popularly imagined at the time as a far-flung and hostile frontier, populated by barbarians. Look no further than historical names for the area to see this illustrated – The province was officially recorded as Mutsu, meaning “Land’s End.” Other common names for the region were Michinoku, “land beyond the roads”, or Oshu, “the far country”.

This attitude towards the north meant the rise of an influential power in Hiraizumi was all the more significant, and Hiraizumi and the Fujiwara have left their mark on history in many ways. The Fujiwara Festival, held in spring and in the fall, celebrate that remarkable history and the area’s cultural heritage.

While this year we were unfortunately forced to scale back events dramatically due to Corona, the typical Spring Festival includes a number of traditional performing arts from the region – music, dancing, and theater – as well as the most popular event, a parade commemorating the arrival of Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune, a popular figure in folklore and history, who fled the wrath of his vengeful brother, the shogun Yoritomo, and found shelter in Hiraizumi. Rotating popular actors are invited to play the roles in the parade each year, making the parade a big draw for fans coming to cheer their favorite stars… Along with many more, because who doesn’t like a good parade?

もう一つ独特なイベントですが、「弁慶力餅大会」という競技も春の藤原まつりの期間に開催されます。

義経の侍衛として一緒に回った武蔵坊弁慶の驚異的な体力を顕彰して、力餅大会の参加者は、三宝の上に乗った大きな「力餅」をお腹に巻いた帯に乗せ、バランスを取って持ち歩きながらどれだけの距離を歩いたかを競います。餅と三宝合わせて１６０ｋｇもあり、簡単とは言えませんが、藤原まつりへお越しの際はぜひ挑戦してみてください。

There’s also the interesting local contest known as the Benkei Strongman Games. Musashibo Benkei was Yoshitsune’s bodyguard and companion, and many legends tell of his martial prowess and strength on their adventures together. Naturally, Benkei accompanied Yoshitsune to Hiraizumi, and tales of his might circulate here still. In his memory, challengers balance a crate packed with mochi (rice pounded into a soft dough, and a traditional local staple) on a padded sash, and compete to see who can carry it the furthest. Sounds easy? Not so much – the crate weighs a whopping 160 kilograms, or a little over 350 pounds!

藤原まつりの他には、毛越寺で５月下旬に「曲水の宴」という歴史的なイベントもあります。平安時代の公家の衣装をまとう参加者は、毛越寺浄土庭園の遣水のほとりに座りながら、遣水に浮かべたお酒の盃が自分のところに流れてくるまでに和歌を詠み上げるという平安時代の優雅な遊びです。とても雅やかな雰囲気を楽しめるイベントですね。

Even outside of the Fujiwara Festival, we also have an interesting event in the Gokusui-no-En, another historical re-enactment that falls on the fourth weekend every May. Held in the garden at Motsu-ji Temple, participants recreate a pastime popular with courtiers of the time. Dressed in historical garb and seating themselves along the garden stream, they must compose a poem before a cup of sake floated along the stream reaches them, whereupon they may take it up and drink. Once everyone has gone, the poems are read aloud and a judge selects a winner.

今年は少し残念ですが、このどちらのイベントも新型コロナの影響で延期になってしまいましたが、今年の秋の藤原まつりと合わせてまだ楽しめると予定しています。なお、現状が少し収まったら、来年の４月はまた例年通り楽しめると思いますので、来年の春はぜひ平泉へ。

While we were unable to enjoy many of these events as planned due to the pandemic, most of them have been pushed to the fall, so we still plan to enjoy them this year, and once things get back to normal, we’ll have next May to look forwards to! See you then!