oleh Yuka Morii
Clay sculpture
Sacred golden rooster resting beneath the earth, crowing on the first day of spring to turn back calamity.
According to legend, Empress Jingū brought a golden rooster back from Korea. It was buried in a chest and was to be unearthed only when the village faced a time of crisis, though no one has ever recorded what it looked like. Another mysterious tradition says that the rooster crows every year on the first day of spring according to the traditional calendar. At a local shrine connected with the legend, a unique festival is held in which two children imitate the crowing of a rooster—a ceremony that lasts only a few minutes.
According to legend, Empress Jingū brought a golden rooster back from Korea. It was buried in a chest and was to be unearthed only when the village faced a time of crisis, though no one has ever recorded what it looked like. Another mysterious tradition says that the rooster crows every year on the first day of spring according to the traditional calendar. At a local shrine connected with the legend, a unique festival is held in which two children imitate the crowing of a rooster—a ceremony that lasts only a few minutes.
