murmurOyamazumi Shrine Rice Planting Festival (Hitori-zumo)
Imabari City · Oyamazumi Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Imabari City · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Fri, Jun 19, 2026 （Ended） Ceremony begins at 12:30
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually in June
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Held every year on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar
- Venue
- Oyamazumi Shrine
- City
- Imabari City, Ehime
About
On a date fixed each year by the old lunar calendar, Oyamazumi Shrine on Omishima Island plants its sacred rice field in one of its major festivals, a prayer for the year's harvest. The thing to see is hitori-zumo, "one-man sumo": the wrestler Ichirikizan takes on the invisible spirit of the rice, and the outcome of the bout is read as a forecast for the crop. Since the opponent can't be seen, he appears to grapple with no one, hence the name. The planting is done by 16 young women chosen from 13 districts of the island, wearing white robes, red sashes, hand guards and leggings. After rites at the main hall, a procession headed by three mikoshi makes its way to the viewing pavilion beside the field. It is an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Ehime Prefecture.
Sources
- OfficialImabari City www.city.imabari.ehime.jp
- OfficialOyamazumi Shrine oomishimagu.jp
Last checked: Oct 11, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.
Other events this month
On the day, see what locals are murmuring on the murmur map
murmur is an app that shows short, anonymous posts on a map, right where they were written. On festival day, open the map around the venue and see what people nearby are saying.