A procession carrying snow ice blocks to a temple is seen in the Yuwakumachi district in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on June 30, 2021. (Mainichi/Akihiro Fukao)

       Snow and ice are seen stored inside a "himuro" hut in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on June 30, 2021. (Mainichi/Akihiro Fukao)

       KANAZAWA -- Snow ice stored in a traditional thatched hut was cut into blocks and carried to a temple during an annual ritual held June 30, ahead of the full-blown arrival of summer.

       The event was held in the Yuwakumachi district in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, in central Japan on the Sea of Japan coast, for the first time in two years, following its cancellation in 2020 due to a shortage of snow and the spread of the coronavirus. Spectators viewed the ice being taken out of the hut with smiles on their faces.

       The annual "himuro (icehouse) opening" ritual is based on the Kaga domain's custom of offering snow stored during the winter to the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period (1603-1867). On June 30, blocks of snow ice were shaved off and brought out of the hut, and a procession then carried them to a local temple to which they were dedicated. The organizers called off inviting the general public to view the event as an anti-coronavirus measure, and instead a live broadcast of the ceremony was held in a square in front of the Kanazawa Yuwaku Yumeji-kan Museum in the Yuwaku hot spring resort. After the ceremony, the shaved snow ice was displayed at the square.

       Those who visited the onsen area gazed at the snow ice on display with apparent curiosity, and took photos on their phones. An office worker from Kanazawa in his 50s, said, "I saw this for the first time. I'd like children to come into contact with this sort of traditional culture."

       Tamotsu Ando, 47, of the Yuwaku Onsen Tourism Association that hosts the event, said, "Although we had no choice but to cancel it last year, I'd like people to visit the onsen after learning that the event was able to be held this year."

       The snow ice blocks are set to be gifted to the prefectural governor of Ishikawa, and the mayor of Kanazawa, as well as the mayors of Tokyo's Itabashi and Meguro wards -- the former of which was the site of a villa of the Maeda family which ruled the Kaga domain, and the latter hosted the former main residence of the Maeda family.

       (Japanese original by Akihiro Fukao, Hokuriku General Bureau)

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