花馬祭

平安時代末期の信濃源氏の武将・木曽義仲が、信州宮ノ越で幼少年期を送り、坂下神社を参拝し祈願していた。

後に挙兵し、平家追討を果たした。

この知らせが坂下に伝わり幣をつけた矢を馬の鞍に立て村人が義仲の戦勝を報告。

これが「花馬祭り」の始まり

その後、農民の五穀豊穣を願う祭りに発展し、馬の鞍につける幣も花串になり、現在に至る。

結構派手な祭り

それにしても銅像の花は花に見えん

Kiso Yoshinaka, a warrior of the Shinano Genji clan in the late Heian period, spent his childhood in Miyanokoshi, Shinshu, and visited Sakashita Shrine to pray.

Later, he raised an army and defeated the Taira clan.

News of this reached Sakashita, and villagers reported Yoshinaka's victory by attaching arrows with sacred offerings to the saddles of their horses.

This was the beginning of the Hanauma Festival.

It later developed into a festival to pray for good harvests for farmers, and the offerings attached to horse saddles became hanagushi, which continues to this day.

A pretty fancy festival