Kodeki Onda Festival (Rice Planting Festival)

About this event

Handed down in the Yasuda district of Kawanishi Town, Nara Prefecture, the "Kodeki Onda Festival (Rice Planting Festival)" is a traditional ritual held every year on February 11 at the grounds of Mutsumoto Shrine. This festival is said to have originated in the Heian period and is designated as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of the prefecture. The biggest highlight of the festival is a unique performance where a man in his climacteric (yakudoshi) year places a drum in his belly to portray a pregnant woman. When this pregnant woman brings a lunch box to her husband (a Shinto priest) who is planting rice, she goes into labor and gives birth to a boy along the footpath between the rice fields, expressing marital love and diligence in farming. Agricultural gestures and humorous dialogues between the pregnant woman and the priest are characteristically performed, making it an enjoyable festival filled with continuous laughter from spectators. Visitors can experience archaic gestures and dialogue, catching a glimpse of the region's ancient customs and culture.

Venue

Mutsumoto Shrine

30 Yasuda, Kawanishi-cho, Shiki-gun, Nara 636-0205