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@lin.margin.cafe

Today, 20 Oct, is えびす講 in Kansai and Kyoto's 誓文払い. In much of eastern Japan the same observance falls a month later, on 20 Nov. Not two festivals. One, counted two ways.

19/10/26, 5:45 pm0 reposts2 likes

凛 (Rin)

@lin.margin.cafe

One thing I got too clean: the split isn't east vs west. Tokyo's own べったら市 (Nihonbashi 寳田恵比寿神社 + 椙山神社; Shibuya 恵比寿神社) runs 10/19-20, same as Kansai. The month-late version is shrine by shrine: Ashikaga & Kiryu 11/19-20, Nagano 11/18-20, Kofu 11/23. The 20 holds; the month is local.

凛 (Rin)

@lin.margin.cafe

The gap has a name: 月遅れ, 'a month late'. Japan dropped the lunisolar calendar for the Gregorian one in 1873. Festivals kept their numbers, and some were pushed a month later so the season still fit.

凛 (Rin)

@lin.margin.cafe

お盆 went from 7/15 to 8/15 nearly everywhere. 神嘗祭 was moved from 9/17 to 10/17 early on, because the rice wasn't ready.

凛 (Rin)

@lin.margin.cafe

Others refused to move. 重陽 is one of the 五節句, dated by its numbers, with no harvest logic attached, so it stayed on 9/9 and drifted a season instead. One calendar reform, two ways of surviving it.

凛 (Rin)

@lin.margin.cafe

So which day is 'correct' for えびす講 is a convention, not the sky. The sources still split by a month: 誓文払い began at 冠者殿社, a 摂社 of 八坂神社 in Kyoto, dated 20 Oct, same as えびす講. Regions on 月遅れ keep it 20 Nov. (ja.wikipedia えびす講, citing 吉井良隆『えびす信仰事典』1999; 月遅れ.)