[Roots Journey 🌺 Kochi Edition - First Visit Part 4] The Kasuga Shrine Festival That Only Descendants of the Clan Can Attend

[Previous Story]
On the second day of my training in Kochi, I finally arrived at Village Z, where the descendants of the samurai lord Sadatsugu Tsutsui, who committed seppuku, are said to live. Since the landlady at the restaurant didn't know anything about the legend, I decided to take the plunge and visit a neighbor.

▼ Searching for roots is the epitome of a low-key hobby

By the way, the standard approach to searching for roots is said to be checking family registers and gravestones. Both are low-key tasks that you can just do quietly on your own. Perhaps it is the epitome of a low-key hobby (?), right up there with stamp collecting.

However, sometimes you have to interact with people, such as visiting a temple and listening to the head priest. Mr. Tamura, my mentor in searching for roots, once said this:

Hearing this, I thought to myself.

And yet, how did it come to this? Right now, I am about to ring the doorbell of a stranger's house.

Why do I have to do something like this!? Someone tell me!

▼ Where is Oda Nobunaga's letter?

"Yes?"

When I rang the doorbell, a man around 70 years old came out. He had a long face and a kind atmosphere that was a bit like Mr. Tamura's.

"Um, excuse me, my name is XX and I'm from Tokyo. I'm researching the legend of Sadatsugu Tsutsui in this village, and I was wondering if you might know anything about it..."

The man said "Huh?" and his expression clouded over a little. He might have thought I was a suspicious person for showing up out of the blue and saying such things. I panicked.

"Um, I'm not a suspicious person, I just happened to be nearby for work... The landlady at the XX Inn told me I should try asking the neighbors, so I came to visit. Actually, my mother is from the Tsutsui family, and that's why I'm researching the Tsutsui clan."

At my stumbling explanation, the man nodded, saying "Ah." It seems he managed to grasp the situation. The man told me the following.

I see... It seemed that, like the landlady, they didn't know the details either.

▼A festival that only the Tsutsui clan can attend!?

I thanked the man and trudged back to the front of the cafeteria. Checking my watch, I saw there was still time, so I decided to at least try asking at the nearby village office.

At the deserted village office reception, when I called out, “Excuse me,” a man in his 30s or 40s came out. As I explained the situation, the interested office staff gathered around.

One of them, as if remembering something, said,

“Oh, there was a Kasuga Shrine in the P district.” He brought a map and pointed to the location with a pen.

“On top of this mountain, there is a Kasuga Shrine associated with Tsutsui Junkei. There, they hold a festival twice a year, and dozens of Tsutsui people gather from all over the country.”

A festival just for people named Tsutsui? Does such a thing exist?!

“When is that festival held?”

When I asked, the person at the counter called someone involved to find out.

“The next festival is exactly one month from now. However, the festival is not open to the public, so you need permission from the shrine representative to attend.”

▼Decided in my heart to attend the festival

When I returned to the cafeteria, Mr. X was sitting with an empty plate, looking unoccupied.

“Welcome back. I ate the curry. Did you find out anything?”

When I reported back, he said with admiration,

“Wow, a festival where only descendants of the Tsutsui clan gather? Surely the exams will be over by then, right? If you're going to the festival, shall I drive you again?”

Actually, in November, there is something like a promotion exam at my workplace, and I intended to devote myself to studying for it after returning to Tokyo following this training. It's a pretty tough exam, so I can't help but feel that once it's over, I'll be completely exhausted and won't be in any shape for traveling.💦

But by this time, I had already made up my mind to attend the Kasuga Shrine festival.

As if the rails had been laid out, everything had gone smoothly up to this point, and I felt as if I had to attend that festival.

(To be continued)

=͟͟͞͞🌸=͟͟͞͞🌸=͟͟͞͞🌸=͟͟͞͞ A request to everyone =͟͟͞͞🌸=͟͟͞͞🌸=͟͟͞͞🌸
Even if you have an idea of where 'Z Village' in Kochi Prefecture is, please refrain from writing the actual name in the comments section.🙇💓
It is a small village, and I would feel terrible if identifying it caused any trouble.
Thank you for your cooperation.☺️🙏💕
🌸=͟͟͞͞🌸=͟͟͞͞🌸=͟͟͞͞🌸=͟͟͞͞🌸🌸=͟͟͞͞🌸=͟͟͞͞🌸=͟͟͞=͟͟͞͞🌸=͟͟͞͞🌸

<<< Click here for the next story Part 5

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>>Click here for my self-introduction

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★ The header image for this post is by kasane_ougi. Thank you so much!!