On December 31, 2022 (New Year’s Eve), “Furusato Hieda” was held at Hieda Hachimangu Shrine in Kojima, Kurashiki City.
In addition to the year-end festival and toshikoshi soba, the festivities included the largest aerial drone show in the Chugoku and Shikoku region, a sword dance performance, and a New Year’s special program broadcast by Kurashiki Cable TV. The event was a great success, and the community welcomed the New Year in high spirits.
Hieda Hachimangu Shrine is also the shrine of the local deity worshipped by the author.
Hoping that the excitement in the community will continue to be passed down for years to come, here is an introduction to “Furusato Hieda,” which ushered in the New Year of 2023.
The information presented here was current when this article was published in January 2023. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is “Furusato Hieda”?
“Furusato Hieda,” held from New Year’s Eve 2022 into the start of 2023, featured a variety of events beginning with the year-end festival.
| Date and time | Event |
|---|---|
| New Year’s Eve through New Year’s Day | Year-end festival |
| Saturday, December 31, 2022 From 11:00 p.m. | Toshikoshi soba served to visitors |
| New Year’s Eve through New Year’s Day | Aerial drone show |
| Sunday, January 1, 2022 From 12:15 a.m. From 12:40 a.m. | Sword dance performance |
Year-end festival
From New Year’s Eve on December 31, 2022, into the New Year, Chief Priest Yasuyo Urakawa conducted the year-end festival in the worship hall of Hieda Hachimangu Shrine.
The year-end festival is a Shinto ritual held as the year turns, in which people reflect on the past year, purify their minds and bodies, and welcome the new year.
Toshikoshi soba served to visitors
As in 2022, the youth group of Hieda Hachimangu Shrine served free toshikoshi soba to 300 people.
Toshikoshi soba enjoyed in the cold is especially delicious.
We also heard from the youth group about what inspired them to serve the soba.
▼The toshikoshi soba that was served. The sweet fried tofu and green onions are delicious.
Aerial drone show
From New Year’s Eve on December 31, 2022, into the New Year, the “New Year Countdown Aerial Drone Show” was held.
The show was the largest of its kind in the Chugoku and Shikoku region, so the author was looking forward to it.
It may be difficult to convey the experience through photos, but we hope you can get a sense of the atmosphere of the drone show.
Each of the 200 drones changed into a variety of colors, creating different displays in the night sky in time with the music—a fascinating experience unlike anything the author had experienced before.
It began with the words “Furusato Hieda.”
Sword dance performance
The finale of “Furusato Hieda” was “Okamuzumi,” a sword dance performed by Katsunori Goto, an actor and director from Kurashiki City.
This sword dance brings together dance, video, and music.
According to Goto, “I put my heart into each performance, so it takes a lot out of me, and it is difficult to perform several times in one day.”
You can sense that passion in Goto’s expression.
The sword dance “Okamuzumi” is an auspicious performance that drives away evil spirits and imbues the dance with the fresh breath of life.
A New Year’s greeting from Chief Priest Urakawa
Here is the New Year’s greeting from Chief Priest Urakawa, broadcast in a special program on Kurashiki Cable TV.
You can hear the chief priest’s wish that the recent excitement at Hieda Hachimangu Shrine reflects “the wonderful energy of so many people who care about their hometown, and their desire to bring smiles to many people.”
Happy New Year, everyone. On behalf of Hieda Hachimangu Shrine, I pray that the year ahead will be a wonderful one for you all.
Last summer, our Hieda Hachimangu Shrine held a very grand fireworks festival.
As we enter the New Year, there will be an aerial drone show, as well as soba and sweets served by local volunteers. A special stage will also be set up on the grounds of Hieda Hachimangu Shrine, where an auspicious sword dance will be performed as an offering.These activities, which bring smiles to so many people, are possible solely because of the love people have for their hometown of Hieda. The feelings people hold have this wonderful energy.
We tend to focus on gloomy news about COVID, wars, and natural disasters. But let us believe in the wonderful energy of people’s feelings and work together to make this a good year.
I encourage you all to visit your local ujigami shrine. I pray for your good health and happiness.
From KCT special program “The Passing Year and the Coming Year: Kojima Hieda Hachimangu Shrine”
From the Writer
The author had been curious about the recent surge in activity at Hieda Hachimangu Shrine over the past year or so.
The New Year’s Eve soba and sword dance offered on the last day of 2021.
A fireworks festival was also held in the summer of 2022.
From Chief Priest Urakawa’s greeting, I was reminded that activities that bring smiles to many people are being made possible by the feelings of people who love their hometown.
I still remember the delighted expression on my daughter’s face as she ate the New Year’s Eve soba.
My daughter will probably remember the warm New Year’s Eve soba she enjoyed in her hometown every New Year’s Eve.
On the other hand, I have heard that Chief Priest Urakawa serves five shrines, and that the officers of Hieda Hachimangu Shrine are also growing older.
For this kind of hometown spirit to be passed on into the future, I cannot help but hope that the feelings of people who love their hometown will spread further and bring people together.
For the hometowns of people throughout Japan to be passed on, too, “By all means, visit your ujigami, the guardian deity of your local community, for your first shrine visit of the New Year!”
I’m sure you’ll have a good year.
Finally, here is a special program by Kurashiki Cable Television, “Year’s End and New Year: Kojima and Hieda Hachimangu Shrine.”
Enjoy the drone show and sword dance in the video, too.
Furusato Hieda Information
| Name | Furusato Hieda |
|---|---|
| Location | Hieda Hachimangu Shrine 1668 Hieda-cho, Kojima, Kurashiki City |
What would you like to know about Kurashiki?
Enter a search term to find articles on this site
