Tales Of Tono

Northeast Japan was a prosperous region during the Jōmon era (14,000–300 BC), when hunting and gathering were the primary means of subsistence. Once rice cultivation became the norm, procuring food grew difficult due to severe cold and limited arable land. A man once described this land as a place to survive.

In Tōno, deities dwell in mountains, rivers, and even within the home. The presence of deities in one’s immediate surroundings was unquestioned, and prayer was woven into everyday life. Hunting in winter, planting in spring, spirits returning in summer, and harvesting rice in autumn. Throughout the year, people pray when they eat, die, mourn, and work. Without scientific knowledge, prayer was a crucial practice alongside wisdom inherited from ancestors, especially when survival meant confronting nature that lies beyond human comprehension. Whilst Buddhism and Shintoism have existed for centuries in Tōno and form a visible foundation, the unravelling of folk beliefs passed down and syncretised amongst people over many generations hints at a unique spiritual world and the stronghold of people’s hearts.

Prayer for mountains: Tōno is a small basin surrounded on all sides by mountains that possess a presence beyond human understanding. A place where souls return, a sacred site of spiritual power. Blessings such as game and wild vegetables are offered, whilst dangerous beasts like wolves and bears dwell there, often claiming human lives. Mountains have their own deity, sometimes appearing as a woman refusing entrance to other females, or taking the shape of red-faced, rugged men with an axe in hand. Just as people held varied impressions of mountains, the mountain deity visited in various forms. If you walk through Tōno, you will find stones inscribed with Yama-no-kami (mountain god) in many places.

Prayer for food: Will the year yield a bountiful harvest? This was the primary concern of farmers. During the celebration of the first full moon of the year, fortune-telling using rice cakes and walnuts took place, or pine trees were planted in snow-covered land as an imitation of rice planting, in the hope of a good harvest. With the belief that Ta-no-kami (rice field god) would come to inspect the newly planted rice fields, horses made of straw were prepared so the deity could return home. In today’s terms, it is akin to reserving a taxi for the gods.

Prayer for mourning: Lost souls watch over the living from a nearby mountain, returning to the living world each summer. During those few days, people spend time with their ancestors and the deceased. A tall lantern tree called Mukai-Toroge (greeting lantern tree) is placed in front of the house as a marker so that souls do not lose their way. Before the tombs, Haka Shishi, a form of Shishi Odori for mourning, is performed, and then a boat bearing fire is sent down the river, returning the souls to the otherworld. Ceremonies for the dead that are repeated annually serve as both a repose for souls and a reminder that you, too, will be commemorated one day after your passing. Sorrow and solace lie at the heart of prayers for mourning.

Prayer for livelihood: Tōno has another deity named Oshira-sama. They resemble wooden sticks wrapped in cloth, some existing for over 500 years. Oshira-sama is known as the deity of sericulture, the curing of eye diseases, and divination, as shamans employed them as ritual tools. In former times, fishermen would consult Oshira-sama for guidance on where to fish. In “The Legends of Tōno”, Oshira-sama is explained through a tragic love story between a horse and a girl; the origins of the tale are quite complex. Such complexity is the characteristic of folk beliefs, arising from local people’s struggles with life and the prayers offered to deities each time they faced hardship.