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Voices from the Other Side: Aomori’s Traditional “Itako” Mediums

  • Irataka prayer beads (left) are strung together with wild boar fangs and pieces of deer horn to ward off evil, and old coins to pay the ferry fare across the Sanzu River into the afterlife. The odaiji is a bamboo tube holding part of a sutra, and is worn on the back to keep evil spirits away. (© Aya Watada)

    Irataka prayer beads (left) are strung together with wild boar fangs and pieces of deer horn to ward off evil, and old coins to pay the ferry fare across the Sanzu River into the afterlife. The odaiji is a bamboo tube holding part of a sutra, and is worn on the back to keep evil spirits away. (© Aya Watada)

  • The forbidding landscape of Osorezan. (© Aya Watada)

    The forbidding landscape of Osorezan. (© Aya Watada)

  • Kawakura Sainokawara Jizōson has more than 2,000 statues of Jizō. (© Aya Watada)

    Kawakura Sainokawara Jizōson has more than 2,000 statues of Jizō. (© Aya Watada)

  • Nakamura Take (left) and Matsuda Hiroko. Matsuda is performing the now rare oshirasama asobase, a January ceremony for the household deity Oshirasama. (© Aya Watada)

    Nakamura Take (left) and Matsuda Hiroko. Matsuda is performing the now rare oshirasama asobase, a January ceremony for the household deity Oshirasama. (© Aya Watada)

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