9 February 2024
Mizuki Uchiyama
In the heart of Japan’s folklore capital, a winter festival invites travelers to step into a world of ancient legends, warming their spirits with homemade sake.
Inside a dimly lit thatched-roof farmhouse, the air is thick with the sweet scent of fermenting rice. Guests, wrapped in layers against the winter chill, raise their cups as the festival host pours another round of cloudy, unfiltered doburoku—Japan’s oldest form of sake.
This is Tōno Dobekko Matsuri, a festival where storytelling, ritual, and sake-drinking blend seamlessly, drawing visitors deep into Iwate Prefecture’s mythical past.
A Place Where Legends Live
Tōno is unlike any other town in Japan. Nestled in the mountainous north, it is often called the “village of folklore,” famous for its kappa (water sprites), shape-shifting foxes, and guardian spirits that still populate the town’s stories today. In the early 1900s, ethnologist Kunio Yanagita compiled these oral traditions into Tōno Monogatari, a book that remains Japan’s most celebrated collection of folk tales.
The Dobekko Festival is an extension of this storytelling tradition. Held inside a centuries-old farmhouse, it brings locals and travelers together over homemade doburoku, a rustic sake once brewed by Japan’s mountain farmers. Unlike the clear, refined sake found in modern breweries, doburoku is thick, creamy, and slightly fizzy, retaining the raw essence of rice and koji mold.
As guests sip from lacquered wooden cups, local storytellers take the stage, weaving tales of Tōno’s spirits. Some legends are eerie—like the tale of a young bride who unknowingly marries a kappa—while others, like the zashiki-warashi, describe childlike spirits who bring good fortune to homes that welcome them.
Drinking in the Past
For those unfamiliar with doburoku, the first sip can be surprising. The slightly sour tang and grainy texture set it apart from commercial sake, but for many, that’s precisely its charm.
“Doburoku isn’t just alcohol,” says Haruka Tada, 33, a local brewer whose family has been making it for generations. “It’s history, it’s ritual. It’s a connection to our ancestors.”
Her family’s farmhouse, built in the Edo period (1603-1868), hosts small groups of guests throughout the winter festival, offering them a chance to drink doburoku warmed over an open hearth while enjoying hearty, homemade mountain cuisine.
A Festival That Brings the Past to Life
A highlight of the festival is the Tōno Daikagura, an ancient form of dance once performed as an offering to the gods. Masked dancers in elaborate silk costumes move rhythmically, accompanied by the beat of taiko drums—an echo of Japan’s rural spiritual traditions.
The festival culminates in a toast to the spirits of Tōno. Visitors, many of whom travel from outside Iwate, are invited to join in, raising their cups to the past.
As the fire crackles and the last cups of doburoku are poured, a sense of timelessness settles over the room. For a moment, it’s easy to believe that the spirits of Tōno are listening, just beyond the warm glow of the hearth.
