From Local Memories to Living Heritage: The Japanese Ice Tradition ‘Omiwatari’ Adapting to Changing Climate

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

ABSTRACT This study examines the resilience and adaptive capacity of the omiwatari ice tradition in Nagano, Japan, and its associated archival record, the Miwatari-chô, in the context of climate change. During harsh winters, Lake Suwa forms huge ice ridges that ancient inhabitants believed to be the footsteps of a local deity, prompting the local Shinto shrine to celebrate the occurrence. The shrine's parishioners or ujiko have recorded the occurrence in the Miwatari-chô for over five centuries. In modern society, the omiwatari ice phenomenon continues to foster a sense of place and identity in the Suwa region. However, warming winters have prevented the phenomenon from occurring as frequently. Through a content analysis of the Miwatari-chô historical archives of ice observation and an ethnographic study of the Yatsurugi Shrine community, this paper examines how the function of the omiwatari tradition has evolved. The findings reveal that the Miwatari-chô has transitioned from a tool to transmit environmental risk information to the next generation, to a repository of local cultural memory. Applying the cultural memory theory, the study discusses the processes of identity formation, reconstruction, and institutionalization that underpin the preservation of the omiwatari tradition. This occurs despite the diminishing physical symbol of the tradition – ice ridges – which are maintained in the Miwatari-chô. The study highlights the Yatsurugi Shrine community's capacity for transformative adaptation of the omiwatari tradition, integrating ancestral memory with the responsibility of the community representatives to ensure the continuity of this culturally significant tradition in the face of climate change.