Izawa-no-miya Rice Planting Festival

About

At the sacred rice paddy of Izawa-no-miya, an associated shrine of the Inner Shrine of Ise Jingu, a rice-planting festival known locally as Omita takes place. A long green bamboo pole topped with a huge fan stands on the edge of the field; once the seedlings have been gathered it is toppled into the paddy, and young men from nearby fishing villages, in loincloths, scramble through the mud to grab it. They take pieces home to enshrine for the boat spirit, as charms for big catches and safety at sea. Then planting proceeds to flute and drum music, and the participants dance their way back to the shrine in the closing odorikomi. Counted with the rites of Katori Jingu and Sumiyoshi Taisha among Japan's three great rice-planting festivals, it is a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property under the name Isobe no Omita. Districts take turns serving each year.

Sources

• OfficialMie Tourism Federation (Kanko Mie) www.kankomie.or.jp
• OfficialShima City Tourism Association www.kanko-shima.com
• OfficialJingu Shicho (Ise Jingu) www.isejingu.or.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

• Saio Matsuri
• Summer Solstice Festival at Futami Okitama Shrine