History and Origin of Bonden
Bonden are ritual objects that have been made and displayed in Yokote for over 300 years. Bonden are deeply rooted in Shinto belief and are used to house the spirits of kami when they descend to earth. Typically, bonden consist of wooden staves approximately 4 meters in length decorated with paper streamers and other ornamentation.
Bonden as Shinto Ritual Objects
According to historical documents, bonden originated as religious objects called heisoku, wooden wands that are used in Shinto rituals. Heisoku were also referred to as bode, and practitioners of Shugendō, a form of mountain asceticism that is rooted in Shinto, combined the term bode with the name of their guardian deity Daibontenō to create the word bonden.
Modern bonden are much more elaborately decorated than the heisoku from which they originated. The tradition of offering them at Asahiokayama-jinja Shrine is believed to have begun in 1845, from a great hunt held on the sixteenth day of the new year by Tomura Jūdayū VIII (1818–1880), the keeper of Yokote Castle. The hunting party included many men from the local fire brigade, and while returning to the castle, they stopped at Asahiokayama-jinja Shrine to pray for safety from fires. The firemen had brought along their large firemen’s standards, known as matoi, which were used to rally firemen to the source of a fire. Matoi are essentially long poles with paper streamers, and they strongly resemble large heisoku. During their prayer, the firefighters raised their matoi before the shrine’s gates. According to local lore, the size and shape of the unusually large bonden used in Yokote’s Winter Festival were directly influenced by the firemen’s standards used during that hunting trip over 150 years ago, and a bonden competition is held each year on the same day as the great hunt.
Bonden in the Winter Festival
The bonden displayed during the Winter Festival competition come in a variety of designs, each of which is created by the individual neighborhood or company it represents. Some groups follow traditional designs, with elements such as pagodas, altars, or the zodiac animal of the year, while other groups incorporate modern design motifs such as sports mascots. Regardless of the motif, participants seeking to have their bonden displayed must follow strict specifications regarding its shape, dimensions, and composition.
First, the bonden’s pole must be a total of 4 meters long. On top of the pole, there is a bamboo basket 90 centimeters across, from which hang 270-centimeter strips of cloth called sagari. Next are the shide, paper streamers used on the heisoku wands, and the hachimaki (literally, “headband”) that wraps around the basket. The elaborate decorations added to the top of the bonden, known as the atamakazari, must have a base of 120 centimeters or smaller, and its height should not exceed 150 centimeters. At the turn of the nineteenth century, most decorations were made of bamboo, wire, and cloth, but modern decorations can include lightweight materials like Styrofoam, which has led to even more elaborate designs.
