This festival is held every six years.

Onbashira comes from Onbashira Festival or Pillar Festival held in the Lake suwa area of Nagano, Japan. The purpose of this festival is to renew the Suwa Grand Shrine, one of the three oldest and most ornate structures of its kind.  The origin of this festival began 1200 years ago. The people living in the area, todays Nagano, participate in this festival every six years, on the anniversary of renewing.

Kitaro was inspired by this festival and the people cherishing nature and was inspired to create the album “Gaia-Onbashira” in 1998. This album is a far-reaching journey that brings together influences of the East and West, past and present, history and future. These tracks resonate with earthly sounds and the history embodied in pre-Columbian wind and percussion instruments.

[Onbashira Festival Schedule]

Upper shrine (Kamisha)
Yamadashi:  April 2^nd (Sat.), 3^rd(Sun.)*, 4^th (Mon.)*
Satohiki:    May 3^rd (Tue.), 4^th (Wed.), 5^th (Thurs.)

Lower shrine (Shimosha)
Yamadashi: April 8^th (Fri.)*, 9^th (Sat.)*, 10^th (Sun.)*
Satohiki: May 14^th (Sat.), 15^th (Sun.), 16^th (Mon.)

[Location / Venue]
Suwa Taisha, Nagano
Access From City to Location: 10 minutes on foot from Shimo-Suwa station
Access From Capital to City: 3 hours by Train from Shinjuku to Shimo-Suwa

For More Information:
Japanese
English 

 Gaia-Onbashira by Kitaro

TRACK LIST
01.  YAMADASHI
02.  MISTY
03.  GAIA
04.  WOOD FAIRY
05.  SATOBIKI
06.  KIOTOSHI


To celebrate the festival’s tradition, we are offering 40% OFF CD until April 10th.

reg: $15.98 –>  Sales Price $9.59 (40% OFF)

It is also available at iTunes Store.

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