A Geography of Prayers to Calm the Wind: The "God of Wind" and Wind-cut Pine Trees in Kashiyama, Yamanashi (1950s-1970s)

A Geography of Prayers to Calm the Wind: The "God of Wind" and Wind-cut Pine Trees in Kashiyama, Yamanashi (1950s-1970s)
The Kashiyama community in the former Kiyosato Village in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture, has suffered from the strong winds of the Yatsugatake downpour. The people built a system to calm the winds by combining windbreaks and prayers by lining up pine trees for windbreaks, which they called "kaze-kiri-matsu" (windbreak pines). Among the rows of pine trees was a small shrine called "Kaze-no Saburo-sha" dedicated to the god of wind, and the knowledge of life to control the wind in terms of both physics and faith was alive and well. Later, the small shrine was moved to the Tone area, and although the effects of farmland consolidation and tourism development have been pointed out, the faith has not ceased.
In this area, people have formed a view of the environment that regards wind not as a mere disaster but as a negotiation partner, which is similar to wind worship in other areas, such as the "Fukikanudo" in Hokuriku. During periods of strong winds, there was a custom of cutting off bad winds with a knife, and the ritual of calming the wind was deeply rooted in people's lives. Even after the postwar changes, windbreaks remained as a way of life and shrines as a way of adjusting relationships, and the wisdom of living with nature was handed down to the next generation. Even today, the memory of this tradition is passed down in the Kiyosato area as the "village of windbreaks.