Gokuraki Ji[1]
(Paradise Temple)
This game is played by two groups. Two people hold hands as if forming a gateway, while the others approach and sing the first line of the song. The gatekeepers answer. The first group sings the following line and so on. The verses are not really sung, but are rather recited in a singsong. The last line is not clear, unless it refers to the visit to shrines when a child is seven; however, in Kuma this custom is not observed. After the end of the song the first group is allowed to go through one by one and the trick is to get by without being slapped by the gatekeepers. If they are slapped, they go to hell (jigoku), if not, to paradise (gokuraku). When all have passed they get their due. Those gone to hell are inclosed between the outstretched arms of two people and are shaken violently while standing up until they fall down; the paradise people are supported on the outstretched arms of two people and thrown up and down. All this is done to a refrain:
Jigoku, gokuraku,
Oni san no kawari.
Hell, paradise,
In the devil’s stead.
| 97 | 1st group: “Kono michi wa doko desuka?” |
“Where does this road lead?” |
