Lifestyles and Traditions - Festivals
Held annually on January 12 (Urumi area, Chibu Village)
The priest reads out the name of the locals after offering prayers in front of an altar, where a Somin-shorai charm, a 30cm long willow branch with "Somin-shorai Massha Shōjin" written on it, is set up, to pray for sound health. Afterwards, the charms are then erected along the 7 roads which are entrances to Urumi area, in order to prevent bad epidemics from entering the area. Furthermore, the Somin-shorai charm is designated as Intangible Cultural Property of Chibu Village and is attracting a lot of attention as a spell handed down through generations.
