Hatsuuma

Overview

Hatsuuma is a festival held at Inari shrines throughout Japan on the first Day of the Horse (uma) in February. An annual event based on Inari worship, it draws worshippers to Inari shrines across the country, including Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, to pray for an abundant harvest, prosperous business, and family safety. Rather than a rite tied to a particular region, it is a rite-of-passage-like annual event widely observed throughout Japan.

History and Origins

The origin of Hatsuuma traces back to the tradition that Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami, the deity of Fushimi Inari Taisha, the head shrine of Inari worship, descended upon Mt. Inari on the first Day of the Horse in 711 (Wado 4). In commemoration, Inari shrines came to be worshipped throughout the country. Originally held on the first Day of the Horse in the second lunar month, it was a rite praying for that year's good harvest ahead of the start of spring farming. In time it became linked with Inari worship and took its present form.

After the Meiji government adopted the new calendar, it came to be held mostly on the first Day of the Horse in February by the new calendar. As a result, what was originally an early-spring event falls, by the calendar, in the coldest part of winter. In regions that follow the old calendar, it may fall in March by the new calendar. The second Day of the Horse in February is called "Ni-no-uma" and the third "San-no-uma," and some regions hold rites on these days as well.

Highlights and Customs

On the day of Hatsuuma, the custom of offering fried tofu and inari-zushi—after the fox said to be the messenger of the Inari deity—is widely known. Some regions offer "hatsuuma dango." Distinctive local customs are handed down in each area: in Nara Prefecture, children visit neighboring houses to receive "hata-ame" candy; in Tochigi Prefecture, there is a custom of eating "shimotsukare." In Toga, Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture, the "Toga no Hatsuuma" is handed down, in which children carry straw horse heads from house to house and dance in time with chanting songs; it is designated a Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan and an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Toyama Prefecture. In the Edo period, children also customarily entered terakoya schools on this day. In some regions, people call out for fire prevention and hand out talismans.

Timing of the Event

It is held on the first Day of the Horse in February (sometimes March in regions following the old calendar). Observed at Inari shrines throughout Japan, it gathers worshippers at Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto and at Inari shrines and Hatsuuma festivals across the country. February 11 is registered as "Hatsuuma Inari Day."

Inari Worship Across Japan

Inari worship spread throughout the country as faith in a deity of prosperous business and abundant harvests, and countless Inari shrines are enshrined across Japan, from small street-corner Inari shrines to great shrines like Fushimi Inari Taisha. Hatsuuma is the day Inari worship is liveliest in the year, and it is still carried on across the country as a simple devotional event rooted in local communities.

Related Information

• Timing: First Day of the Horse in February (winter; sometimes March in old-calendar regions)
• Prefecture: Nationwide (no designation, as it is an annual event not tied to a particular region)
• Place: Inari shrines throughout Japan (Fushimi Inari Taisha and others)
• Origin: The descent of Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami upon Mt. Inari (first Day of the Horse, 711 / Wado 4)
• Customs: offering fried tofu and inari-zushi / hata-ame (Nara) / shimotsukare (Tochigi) / Toga no Hatsuuma (Toyama, Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property)

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