戦後の民俗学では「ケガレ」を、日常（ケ）が枯れた状態とみなし、祭りなどのハレの儀式でケを回復（気をよくする・清める）すると考える。垢離（こり）に見られる禊のように、ケガレを祓う行為と水の親和性が高いことは古来から知られている。コロナ禍を経て日常回復への希望が見え始めた今、日本一の水瓶を前に水の祝祭を掲げ、気を整える場をつくりたい。とりわけ、祝祭性はコロナ禍の反動としてより鮮明に立ち上がるだろう。

In postwar folklore studies, kegare is understood as the withering of everyday life (ke), which ritual occasions of hare (festivity) serve to restore—cleansing or revitalizing the ki. As seen in purification rites such as akori (misogi-like ablutions), the act of dispelling kegare has long been closely associated with water. Having passed through the COVID era and with hope for a return to daily life beginning to surface, we propose a water festival before Japan’s greatest reservoir as a space to recalibrate the spirit. Above all, the festival element will likely emerge even more vividly as a cultural response to the pandemic.