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Rice-Planting Festivals: Folk Traditions Centering on the Rice Paddy Deity

  • The highlight of the festival’s first day is the issei-zuri dancing by all participants. Costumed dancers prance to make the multicolored tassels on their headpieces swing wildly. (© Haga Library)

    The highlight of the festival’s first day is the issei-zuri dancing by all participants. Costumed dancers prance to make the multicolored tassels on their headpieces swing wildly. (© Haga Library)

  • Left: Wooden staffs with metal rings attached are shaken to make noise. Right: A headpiece modeled on a horse’s head is decorated with felicitous motifs, like the deities of fortune Ebisu and Daikoku. (© Haga Library)

    Left: Wooden staffs with metal rings attached are shaken to make noise. Right: A headpiece modeled on a horse’s head is decorated with felicitous motifs, like the deities of fortune Ebisu and Daikoku. (© Haga Library)

  • The festival begins when participants offer their dances at Shinra Shrine on the peak of Chōjayama. (© Haga Library)

    The festival begins when participants offer their dances at Shinra Shrine on the peak of Chōjayama. (© Haga Library)

  • Children also take part in the festival. Their thick padded coats, called dotera, are typical cold-weather wear in the region. (© Haga Library)

    Children also take part in the festival. Their thick padded coats, called dotera, are typical cold-weather wear in the region. (© Haga Library)

  • Children also deftly perform tricks with tamasudare, mats made of loosely woven sticks. (© Haga Library)

    Children also deftly perform tricks with tamasudare, mats made of loosely woven sticks. (© Haga Library)

  • Schools close on the first day of the festival so that children can take part. (© Haga Library)

    Schools close on the first day of the festival so that children can take part. (© Haga Library)

  • Humorous skits are a highlight of this festival. (© Haga Library)

    Humorous skits are a highlight of this festival. (© Haga Library)

  • Funamochi is a ceremony to ensure a good harvest; it is also a rite of passage for young children. (© Haga Library)

    Funamochi is a ceremony to ensure a good harvest; it is also a rite of passage for young children. (© Haga Library)

  • In tauchi, Tarō the paddy tiller (left), and his “father” drag branches around to represent farm tools. (© Haga Library)

    In tauchi, Tarō the paddy tiller (left), and his “father” drag branches around to represent farm tools. (© Haga Library)

  • The unruly “ox” is giving the farmer a hard time. The mask bears the date 1781, evidence of the festival’s long history. (© Haga Library)

    The unruly “ox” is giving the farmer a hard time. The mask bears the date 1781, evidence of the festival’s long history. (© Haga Library)

  • Children plant pine needles bunched to imitate rice seedlings in a mock rice-planting ceremony. (© Haga Library)

    Children plant pine needles bunched to imitate rice seedlings in a mock rice-planting ceremony. (© Haga Library)

  • The tanokami watches over the growth of rice and children. (© Haga Library)

    The tanokami watches over the growth of rice and children. (© Haga Library)

  • In service to the tanokami, young women plant rice seedlings. (© Haga Library)

    In service to the tanokami, young women plant rice seedlings. (© Haga Library)

  • A ceremonial reenactment using oxen to scrape and level a rice paddy. (© Haga Library)

    A ceremonial reenactment using oxen to scrape and level a rice paddy. (© Haga Library)

  • Female rice planters wear sedge hats and kasuri (ikat, a form of tie-dye) kimono. (© Haga Library)

    Female rice planters wear sedge hats and kasuri (ikat, a form of tie-dye) kimono. (© Haga Library)

  • The sanbai-san chorus leaders lead the rice-planting singing. (© Haga Library)

    The sanbai-san chorus leaders lead the rice-planting singing. (© Haga Library)

  • The festival in 1954, photographed by folklore photographer Haga Hideo. At the time, over 200 people participated in the planting. (© Haga Library)

    The festival in 1954, photographed by folklore photographer Haga Hideo. At the time, over 200 people participated in the planting. (© Haga Library)

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