Nukazuka Kanjoza

Winter

Nukazuka Kanjoza

Feb.11.2018

Ceremonies in which a sacred rope called a “kanjo-nawa” is installed at the entrance to a village to ward off trouble are conducted at the beginning of the year. In Ujitawara-cho, such ceremonies are held at in the Araki, Tachikawa, Iwayama and Zenjo-ji districts.
In the Nukazuka area of Tachikawa, the ceremony takes place on the Lunar New Year in February. People of the area make the largest sacred rope in the town by fastening strands of illicium anisatum around 12 supports. The completed rope is sanctified by the chief priest of Jodo-ji Temple then carried using bamboo sticks to the “kanjo-no-mori” at the entrance to the village and placed at the base of a tree. This is a good example of the syncretistic fusion of Shintoism and Buddhism.