七福神

Planned, Filmed, Edited and Producted by:Yasuhiro Omori, Research Department on National Museum of Ethnology
　　Edited by:Sugiyama
　　Filmed on:January 1981-January 1982
　　Filmed at:Shimofukuzawa, Kiyokawa, Nakakuma-gun, Yamanashi
　　With the Cooperation of:The Youth Association of Shimofukuzawa
　　In Cooperation with:NHK Service Center
　　Production Date:January 1984
　　Awards:Presented at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, 1987
　　In Japan, since traditional times, at the age of 16 boys join a Young Association Group to mark their manhood. They help to develop the economic, cultural and spiritual ways of the countryside. This documentary is about the preparation of the New Yearís celebration that is organized by the Association, as well as other festivities. ( in English )
　　http://www.minpaku.ac.jp/english/aboutus/pe/13
　　In Shimofukuzawa, Japan, the local men's youth association organizes the annual Dosojin deity festival. The festivities are characterized by paper decorations and pantomime, with sexualized symbols promoting marriage and fertility. Young men of the village play the roles of the seven lucky gods, traditional protectors embodying such blessings as health, prosperity, long life, wealth, respect for Buddhist law, and generosity. Those who have left the village to work in urban areas return every January to take part in the ritual, held for the benefit of newlyweds and for the purification of 42-year-old men, who are thought to be in especial danger from evil spirits.