Kaseda has tug of war of two kinds of night with a full moon called a tsunahiki and a tsunahikizuri. The tsunahikizuri rope drag of the night with a full moon in Kaseda.
In Honmachi, it is crowded very much with a big tsunahiki on the day of
the bright moon of midautumn. In Higo Nakahara, at the time of a tsunahiki,
people construct a tower, cover 3 ropes, and twist and raise with the shout
of "Sorayoi sorayoi sorayoiyoi." And they wind like a snake in
the rope. And they surround it and pray at the moon. And a tsunahiki starts
still more. There is the following folklore. "If we touch the rope
of the night with a full moon, we will not catch a cold. Furthermore, supposing
we draw a rope, in addition, that is right." As for the community,
the schoolchild became one person. However, the tsunahiki is still continued
as an event of the whole community.
Now, Kaseda has another tug of war of the night with a full moon called a Tsunahikizuri. Children sing as follows. "Come out of the moon early. Then, children are glad and I draw a rope. Esassa esassa! " And they drag a rope trailingly and travel the inside of a community. In a Tojinbara, there is no tug of war like Honmachi only by in this way taking a round of a community.
Why are there such two ways in the same Kaseda? The rope of the night with a full moon has imagined the dragon or the snake in fact. A rope is the symbol of the sea Holy Spirit (it is transformed itself and reproduced). Community people share the good luck of the power, pray for health, and purify a community.
Especially the Bansei near the sea has left old chairs like a Tojinbara. Furthermore, there are the following traditions in other areas in Kaseda. For example, there is also a community which rolls a rope so that a snake may hang out. In Nakayama in Kukino, children run about a community instead of a dragon (rope). I think that these also have the same meaning.
The present tsunahiki has applied and done the element of healthy prayer and good harvest prayer and also harvest fortune-telling in this way. In agricultural Kominato-chuou, the direction which I made negotiate about two ropes and went out was defeat.
Moon Festival Movie"Jugoya Tsunahiki" in Ichiki-Yamashita, Kaseda
"Juugoya Tsunahikizuri" in Komatsubara, Kaseda
"Jugoya Dossa" in Uchideguchi, Chiran-cho
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