Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 6.djvu/44

 never any failure to obey, and from the children the contagion spreads to the adult population until the whole district ripples with merriment from morning till evening. It is a graceful notion that the deities desire the people to share their mirth as well as to pray for their tutelage.

Several provincial festivals have gradually assumed the character of athletic competitions. At the top of a mountain called Kimpo-zan, in Ugo province, stands the shrine of Ha-ushi-wake. On the fifth day of the first month all the robust men of the district, to the number of several thousands, ascend the mountain and pass the night in a snow-cave some two furlongs from the summit. At that season the snow lies ten feet deep on Kimpo-zan. To reach the cave is in itself an arduous undertaking. When the first streak of dawn is seen in the sky, the youngest and strongest of the band of worshippers start from the cave. Stripped to their loin-cloths, they race in phrensied emulation over the snow and up the steep cliffs, the first to reach the shrine being assured of the deity's protection throughout the year and of his comrades' profound admiration. This race does not end the fête. All the competitors crowd into the precincts of the shrine and engage in a bout of general wrestling. They do not attempt to hurl each other to the ground after the manner of Western wrestlers, but only to thrust one another from the enclosure. By degrees the remaining