Hamauri - Beach Visiting Day

Festival Location: All Areas, Japan

Festival Type(s): Traditional Festivals, Cultural Festivals

Hamauri - A Cleansing Tradition

By: © Linda Gillis 2009

In early April you may be surprised to see more people than usual at the beaches. April 2nd (or March 3rd on the lunar calendar) is the day Hamauri or Beach Visiting is celebrated. This tradition all began with a very strange legend.

It seems that long ago in Okinawa a young man visited a young girl of marriageable age one evening. The man was well dressed and clearly of the noble class. He sweet talked the young woman and became intimate with her. Upon finding that she had become pregnant the girls' parents' felt decided they must find out about the nobleman's background since he had never said where he was from. The parents told the girl to stick a needle with a very long thread into the bottom of the nobleman's kimono when he next visited. That night as the nobleman slept, the girl did as her parents told her. The next morning the parents followed the thread far into the forest and into a cave. Deep inside the cave a huge snake was coiled up and was talking. The snake said if the girl did not enter the sea to purify her body, she would bear his children. It was then the parents realized the nobleman was not a man at all, but an incarnation of an enchanted snake.

When the parents returned to their home, they immediately took their daughter down to the sea so she could purify her body in the salt water. Much to their surprise, dead baby snakes flowed from her body. The spell of the evil snake was broken and the young nobleman was never seen again.

These days, hamauri is more a day of fun and good food. Young girls and their families go to the beach and enjoy a day of feasting, beach combing and relaxation. In some villages only the women go to the beach while the men stay home and take over the household duties for the day.

This day is not totally about fun and frivolity. Many people are very superstitious and still believe that the Hamauri tradition of purifying yourself in the sea will cast out bad spirits and curses that have been put on the girls. This is also a day of prayers to ensure the good health of all the girls in the family.

Watch the local papers for more information on this event and make a point of hitting the beach to observe this unusual festival. If you are very lucky you may be invited to join the fun!

Check out Linda's wonderful site on all things Okinawan at http://www.okinawaninfo.com.

by Linda Gillis