Kanjiki
かんじき

Photos by Tohoku Digital Archive

Historical Background and characteristics

Kanjiki is a pair of equipments which are put on shoes so that you can walk comfortably on snow. There are several types of kanjiki; all can disperse the pressure from your shoes to the surface of snow so that you will not sink.

Kanjiki is made of bamboo or wood as a frame, and of rope as the bottom. The shape is mostly oval and it functions like a snow shoe. Some types of kanjiki have a small object on its frame called tsume (nail or claw), which can catch the ground. When using kanjiki on snow, it is better to put oil on it, which prevents snow from sticking to it.

Although it is difficult to identify where kanjiki originated, it was widespread and became common in snowy regions such as Hokkaido, Tohoku region, and Hokuriku region.

Oriwatari Hatsu Jizo Kanjiki Mairi / The First Visit of The Year to Jizo in Oriwatari

There used to be only six jizo statues, guardian deity of children, in a mountain path in Oriwatari. In 1772, a buddhist priest Zesan made a jizo statue to pray for long life, childbirth, and child growth. Since 1989, so many people donated to make jizo statues, and one thousand jizo statues had been made for two years. Thus, people wear kanjiki to walk on snow and visit all the statues on January 24th, which is designated as the day for the first visit of the year, since 1991.

You can join the event if you want to. Go to the link (Akita Prefectural Tourism Federation and 由利本荘市観光協会) and read the details. You need to prepare the stuff such as kanjiki for yourself.