Omagarihama Lion Dance is an intangible folklore cultural asset handed down for generations in the Omagarihama district of Higashi-Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture. It dates back to the Edo period (1603-1868) when it was first dedicated to Tamatsukuri Shrine in the district during the reign of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646-1709), the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. It was danced excitedly and heroically by local fishermen.In the early days, fishermen used to begin dancing on January 20 in the lunar calendar and kept doing so for three days and three nights visiting each household in the district. Unfortunately, the dance with such a long history came to be rarely performed in modern days. So locals formed the current "Omagarihama Lion Dance Preservation Society" in 1973. The society began giving dance lessons at junior high schools in the district in the 80s, hoping to pass the heritage down to future generations.

大曲浜獅子舞は宮城県東松島市大曲浜地区に伝承されている市の無形民俗文化財である。江戸時代、5代将軍徳川綱吉の施政時、同地区の玉造神社へ奉納されたのがその始まりだ。獅子舞は漁業を生業とする男たちによって勇壮かつ豪快に舞われ、古くは旧暦の1月20日から大曲浜の各家を回り始め、3日3晩舞い続けることが多かった。そのように長い歴史を持つこの獅子舞も舞われる機会が減少したことから、1973年(昭和48年)に現在の「大曲浜獅子舞保存会」が結成された。85年(昭和60年)代からは中学校で獅子舞の伝習も開始され、末永く伝統を受け継いでいく構えだった。

 

However, the fishing village of Omagarihama was ravaged by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami along with many other areas in the Tohoku region. The preservation society was no exception. Many of its members and their families and relatives lost their lives. All its nine lion masks were washed away together with costumes, flutes and drums.The society was forced to become dormant. Surviving members were divided in opinion over whether they should or could resume their activity. For most elder members, the top priority was an early recovery of their stable living environment. In contrast, younger members wanted to resuscitate the traditional dance in hopes of cheering the afflicted people in their district. Yet no one wanted to see the society disbanded. All the members, young and old alike, seemed to be agreed on continuation of their society. When they met in August that year, they came to a unanimous decision on the society’s continuation. They shared the view that the sooner they resumed their activity, the better and easier they could expand it and get support from their community.

しかし、2011年3月11日、漁村である大曲浜地区も地震と津波の被害を受けた。保存会も例外ではなく、会員及びその家族や親族が尊い命を奪われ、大切に保管され獅子頭9体すべてと衣装、笛、太鼓も流失してしまった。当然、保存会は休止状態とならざるを得なかった。再開についても意見が割れた。年配者たちが優先したのは早期の生活環境の安定。これに対して若者は、地区伝統の獅子舞で被災した人々を元気づけたいと考えていた。ただ、廃止という意見はなく、保存会は継続の意志のもとに一つだったようだ。同年8月に保存会会員を集めて採決したところ、出席者全員一致で会の継続が決定した。再開を早めるほど、活動及び支援の輪が広がりやすいということもあった。

As they tried to revive the dance, they were faced with two big problems – how to get tools and dancers. All the tools necessary for the dance had been washed away. Fortunately, however, four heavily damaged lion masks were recovered from the debris and two of them were repaired with the aid of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. They enlisted support from various people and groups across the country to regain minimum necessary costumes, drums and flutes. How to get good dancers was more challenging. Many of the members were young and they still lacked training. In particular, most of them could not sing hamajinku and saitarobushi – the important elements of the lion dance. The two songs are sung while the lions take a rest after dancing. Members had to practice repeatedly before the dance could be reperformed. Their hard work was featured in an NHK program. Enka singer Sayuri Ishikawa volunteered to train some members to sing saitarobushi, a popular folk ballad of Miyagi Prefecture.

獅子舞を再開するにあたっては道具と舞い手に課題があった。獅子舞に必要な道具はすべて流失していたが、獅子頭は発見された4体のうち2体は文化庁の補助で修繕できた。衣装、太鼓、笛も各方面からの支援を取り付けて一通りそろった。舞い手の課題としては、若者も多いため、習得が不完全であることだった。特に、浜甚句と斉太郎節という獅子が休む際に唄われる、大曲浜獅子舞の重要な一部を成す唄を唄えない者が多かった。そのため、再開までに会員たちの間で猛練習が続けられた。練習の様子はNHKにも取り上げられ、宮城県民謡である斉太郎節については歌手の石川さゆりさんの指導も受けた。

In January 2012, ten months after the quake-tsunami tragedy, the members of the preservation society visited the temporary houses for evacuees in Higashi-Matsushima and performed the lion dance to remember the victims, thank Omagarihama for bringing them up and cheer the afflicted people there. The dance made its comeback. Many locals rejoiced in tears at the revival of their tradition.

震災の翌年1月、亡くなった人々への供養と自分たちを育んでくれた大曲浜地区への感謝を込め、そして、被災者に元気を取り戻してもらうために、東松島市内の仮設住宅等を回った。ここで獅子舞を目にした地区の人たちは涙を流して伝統の復活を喜んだ。

 Some time after the revival performance, a troupe of lion dancers organized by the society went on a nationwide tour  to express their thanks for the support offered during their hard time. For a while after that, members of the society were kept busy appearing in traditional arts contests and other events held in various parts of the country. They are less busy as they get fewer offers these days. They get less support accordingly.

The society has resumed giving dance lessons to children in a bid to ensure its continued existence. It is now steadily becoming self-reliant. Omagarihama Lion Dance is indeed one of Japanese traditions everyone hopes to see passed down to successive generations.

保存会は復活に向けられた支援への感謝を表わすため全国各地を回る公演ツアーを実施した。その後も多くの伝統芸能大会や行事に呼ばれ、保存会の面々は忙しい日々を過ごしたようだ。最近は少しずつオファーが減り、落ち着いてきてはいるが、それにともない援助もなくなりつつある。復活後の体制を確立させるためにも、子どもたちへの伝習も再開され、保存会は順調に自立できている。長い歴史を有する大曲浜獅子舞、その伝統は絶えることなく受け継がれてほしいものだ。

(Written by: Naoto Takeda)

 

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