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Mibu No Hana Taue



Mibu no Hana Taue is a ritual performed by the Mibu and Kawahigashi communities in Kitahiroshima Town, Hiroshima Prefecture, to ensure a large rice harvest by leading people to worship the deity of rice.

Western Japan has customarily celebrated rice planting ceremonies with a rice planting song, accompanied by a small drum, a large drum, a flute, or a handmade kane in accordance with the time signature of Sasara. It is a farming ritual that involves the worship of Sanbai (Ta-no-Kami) and praying to the god for a good harvest. It is also an aid to savor the hard work of rice planting.

This festival dates back to around 1400, besides offering prayers, this ceremony also creates a meeting place for men and women, as well as welcomes new family members such as brides and grooms.

The ritual is held every June on the first Sunday following rice transplanting. Villagers bring cattle to the shrine and decorate the saddles with elaborately decorated and colorful artificial flower necklaces, and Saotome and others dressed up with red sashes and waistbands in order to form a day of hare. It is said that it came to be known as Hanada Ue because of its gorgeous appearance. After that, an elder with a sacred stick leads them to a rice field that has been kept in reserve for the ritual.

In the absence of cattle plowing the field, colorfully dressed girls arrange seedlings inside cases while singing a song under the guidance of an elder. This is followed by the rice field being leveled with an implement (eburi), which is said to contain the deity of rice fields. After that, the girls walk backward as they transplant the seedlings, followed by the eburi-user, who then continues to level the field.

Songs and music accompanying the ritual are sung. Once the transplantation is completed, the eburi is placed upside down in the water with three bunches of rice seedlings. The elders are responsible for the transmission of the songs and music and watch over the smooth execution of the ritual. This rice planting is the largest in west Japan, and the "Kawatoda Orchestra" and "Mibu no Hana Tadashi" highlight its tradition.

As part of this unique celebration, God blesses the upcoming year for a bountiful harvest; this further applies to relationships and other areas of life as well. However, this is a culturally unique Japanese celebration where one can feel the old tradition surrounding them.

References

(https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/mibu-no-hana-taue-ritual-of-transplanting-rice-in-mibu-hiroshima-00411) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mibu_no_Hana_Taue) (https://en.japantravel.com/hiroshima/mibu-no-hana-taue/5026)


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