Does your hometown have 'small shrines' or 'gods' quietly preserved by the local people?
Along the old road from Shidahama to Kawageta on the east side of Lake Inawashiro, there is a hall called 'Sekiwaki Ubaido', commonly known as 'Onbasama'. This was my playground during childhood, and I have nostalgic memories packed into this place, feeling excited as a child seeing the many cars lined up on festival days, thinking, 'Today is a festival.'
When I got married and welcomed my first "Inu no Hi (safe delivery prayer)," I was taken by my mother-in-law to visit this hall again. The prayer experience there was a bit different from what I had encountered at typical shrines and temples.
A hall without a monk. The "goeika" sung by the village women.
This hall does not have a head priest. Women from the community, aged from their 50s to 80s, take the lead, and on festival days, they all come together to purify the hall and warmly welcome visitors.
The style of the prayer is also unique. Instead of monks or priests, the village women, who are life veterans with childbirth experience, chant the "Thirty-Three Kannon Goeika" together, wishing for a safe delivery. The unique, thin, and nasal melody of the goeika sung by women creates a mysterious sense of solidarity and a warm feeling of being watched over.
A circle of women connecting lives
After the prayer, we enjoy pickles with tea while sharing our life stories, and we receive a wooden spatula (shamoji) engraved with "safe delivery prayer" as we head home.
Once a girl who played in the precincts, she becomes a mother and eventually becomes someone who wishes for the peace of others, just like the women who chanted the goeika back then. It was a quiet realization that a woman's life draws the same circle.
[Folklore Mystery] Is the true identity of "Onbasama" an old woman by the Sanzu River?
Now, let me introduce a mysterious history. This warm "Onbasama (Yubai)" is often represented by a statue (or image) of an old woman sitting with one knee raised.
Did you know that this is often referred to as "Datsuba (the old woman who strips off clothes)" nationwide? Datsuba is a terrifying old woman in hell who strips the clothes off the deceased by the Sanzu River and weighs the severity of their sins in life.
So, why is such a terrifying figure revered as a "gentle deity of safe delivery and child-rearing" in Aizu? What do you think?
The legend of the "strong women who save women" transcending time.
The key to solving this mystery lies in the "postures of childbirth in the past" and "various legends."
The posture of Datsuba sitting with one knee raised closely resembles the "sitting childbirth style" of women in the past. Additionally, it overlaps with the sitting style of Nyoirin Kannon (also the 11th temple of the Inawashiro Thirty-Three Kannon), which is believed to have eventually linked to the belief in safe delivery.
Furthermore, Aizu has such legends remaining.
Legends of salvation related to old women remaining in Aizu
- Legend of the Mid-Edo Period Midwife: When the wife of the lord of Iwatateyama was suffering from a difficult childbirth, an old woman appeared from nowhere, kindly assisted her, and vanished like mist. It is said that the lady, moved by the experience, painted her likeness and worshipped it, marking the beginning of the 'Onbasama' in Sekiwaki.
- Legend of the Bridge Princess (Ashina Hime): There is a legend that during a great flood, a pregnant woman in her last month, who had lost her way, was saved by someone who vowed, 'Even if I fall into hell, please save this mother and child.'
Though she appears as a 'terrifying old woman', her essence is that of 'a being who helps women facing life-threatening childbirth with great strength.' This is why the people of Aizu have built as many as 80 halls, continuing to offer deep gratitude and prayers.
Embark on a journey to unravel the unknown 'Deep History of Aizu'
How was it? The small halls protected and passed down by the women of nameless villages breathe a warm and profound history of folk beliefs that is not found in textbooks.
At 'Tabinoito', we offer [Academic Style] tours that delve into the deep history and culture of the region, which are often overlooked in superficial sightseeing, along with the rich knowledge of our guides.
If you have a curiosity like, 'I want to know the deep side of Aizu not found in guidebooks' or 'I want to experience an intellectual 'aha' moment where historical dots connect', why not join us for a historical exploration for adults?
