#damine

you know what? thank you for this new knowledge you had give me! LOL 😂👍

This is Damien hes from HellPark a fan blog of South Park  

A novel, of memorable liquor store and logging railroad   11

Photo 田峯の盆　damine no Bon

戦局はますます悪くなってくる。「豊橋の海軍工廠がB29の編隊に襲われた。学徒も工員もたくさん死んだらしい」「浜松は艦砲射撃でやられたらしい」等、たくさんの「らしい」が飛び交ったが、それらは間違いなく真実だった。多くの人の死が、積み上げられていった。 そして、昭和19年9月。忠利さん戦病死の報が届いた。「別府海軍病院入院加療したがその効なく昭和19年9月9日病死した」と後世の文献資料は書き記している。 設楽町内の田峯観音高勝寺には、戦後に建立された戦没者慰霊碑がある。この表に、数多くの戦没者に混じって、「伊藤忠利」の名前が刻まれているのを見ることができる。毎年8月には「田峯の盆」と呼ばれる、死者を悼み祖霊を懐かしむ行事があるのだが、必ずこの石碑の前で念仏が唱えられる。魂魄となった忠利さんも、この場に帰ってくるのだろう。 戦争による肉親との死別は、いまだ消えない傷となって、設楽の人々の心に残っている。

訃報に接したその時、ちか子さんは声も出せず、ぼたぼたと大粒の涙をこぼした。

「広島に新型爆弾投下さる」「長崎にも新型爆弾」「ポツダム宣言受諾」。こうして日本は、昭和20年(1945)8月15日を迎えた。

つづく

Photo 田峯観音高勝寺にある戦没者慰霊碑

War memorial monument at Damine Kannon Koshoji temple

War situation got worse and worse. People said  each other 'I heard Navy arsenal in Toyohashi was bombed' 'I heard Hamamatsu was attacked by  gunfire from warship' . People said many  'heard'. Those weren't rumors but the truth. The bodies lay in heaps here and there. And September 9th  Showa19(1944), Ito family received a letter telling Tadatoshi-san's death from a disease contracted at the battle front. The documentary record edited later says 'He entered Beppu navy hospital to be treated but in spite of all medical aid he died from disease  in September 9th  Showa19'. There is a war memorial monument in Damine Kannon Koshoji Temple in Shitara town. On it we can see many soldiars' names carved, who were killed by war. Among them we can find Tadatoshi-san's name , too. Every August they hold a festival called 'Damine no Bon' to mourn the death of their family member and to think fondly of their ancestor. August 17th, they have a ceremony to chant sutra in front of this monument. This is a very important part of a series of ceremonies because the pain of lost are still alive in people's mind. We Japanese believe that dead people's spirits come back to this world on this specific Bon days. Tadatoshi-san's spirit also does, I think.

  The feeling of grief was so huge that Chikako-san even could not cry loudly.  She was able to do nothing but drop many large tears at the news of her husband's death.

Hiroshima, Nagasaki. Fatal damages  were reported in a row. And at last Empire of Japan had gone . It was Showa 20(1945).

to be continued

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Damine Kannon is a famous temple in Shitara-Shinshiro area in Aichi pref, Japan. On Feb.9th( this year ) Danine village people have a Dengaku Festival. It's  a simulation play of annual farm work. This festival had been held for centuries  to get good harvest in autumn. And the next day of this festival, Damine people also have Kabuki festival.

Most foreign people would think Kabuki as the art play in big cities such as Edo or Kyoto. However, not only in those  areas but in farming areas people have enjoyed and played Kabuki. Yes, once a year farmers transform themselves into Kabuki actors, even now.

In case of Danime, people carry out the preparation in various ways. Some people practice their program. Others build a provisional Kabuki theater. Edo was a big center of Kabuki. But we can find only three permanent Kabuki theaters in that city because Edo shogunate did not like that citizens had excessive amusement . Most  of troupes were obliged to use provisional theaters. They built those theaters in dry riverbeds because those places did not belong to anyone. They built theaters using logs, ropes and woven mats. Today we can see the diorama of provisional Kabuki theater at Edo Tokyo museum. In farming area, people held Kabuki at the sites of temples or shrines.  Very few shrines have fine theaters. And some shrines and temples have only stages, without seats for the audience. The equipment of Damine Kabuki corresponds to the latter. So Damine people must built them. On the last Sunday of Jan they made it by traditional way of architecture, using only logs bamboos and ropes, not using any nails and a blueprint.Only their own memories and experiences they trusted to.

The roof shape must be curved. To make this shape they use huge weights. At the both ends of roof crosspiece they hang them. Both ends of the crosspiece get lower than its middle part which is supported by main beam log. 

The other day I reported how they make a temporary kabuki theater in Damine  village. Yesterday was the day of the Kabuki festival. As the frame made of logs and bamboos was covered by tarpaulin, people were able to enjoy the stage play without feeling the coldness. Not only in big cities such as Edo(Tokyo), Kyoto but in farming areas people loved/love Kabuki. Especially in farming areas they hold Kabuki festivals on specific day and village people play the actor's roles and music instruments by themselves. For example, please take a look at the sitting man in the photo below. He is a principal in this area's elementary school.

The Danime legend tells us the origin of their festival.  

In 1677 AD the important temple in Damine was destroyed by fire. People cut down many logs from the forests to rebuild it .  But one of those forests was a shogunate-owned one. It was a huge crime to cut down logs from this forest. The magistrate who took charge of this area was informed this news and tried to investigate the scene.  　

The village people in panic prayed and asked a favor of Kannon sama.  'Please help us, Kannon sama. If you deliver us from this distress  we'll dedicate Kabuki to you evermore, even if our village get smaller, until our village get only three families '

It was June ( by lunar calendar. It is July by today's calendar) when  magistrate and his followers tried to get to the scene in the forest called Dando段戸.　Suddenly it snowed severely. Deep snow on the narrow path prevented them from going any further. 

In this way the village people were able to avoid being punished.