Omi Nakayama Taro Contest Festival (Imo Kurabe Matsuri)

About this event

The "Omi Nakayama Taro Contest Festival" is a festival with more than 850 years of tradition, held annually on the first Sunday of September at Kumano Shrine and Nogamiyama in Nakayama, Hino Town. Passed down from parents to children and children to grandchildren, it is a simple festival worshiping the field deity (Nogami), and was designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1991 (Heisei 3). The highlight of the festival is the "Imo Kurabe," where two settlements from the east and west compete over the length of taro roots. Said to be an agricultural encouragement rite continuing since the late Heian period, legend has it that a victory by the west foretells a bountiful harvest, while a victory by the east foretells a poor harvest. On the day of the festival, after a sake cup ritual at Kumano Shrine, participants proceed along separate eastern and western paths toward Nogamiyama, go through rituals following ancient customs, and finally compete over the length of the taros. Festivals similar to this are rare nationwide, earning it the reputation as one of the "Nation's Unique Festivals." There is no established theory as to why they compete over taro length, with various theories suggesting it is a remnant of taro being a dietary staple of Japanese people before rice cultivation, or a substitute for a deity governing ironware.

Venue

Takiyama Shrine

574 Nakasuge, Hino, Hino District, Tottori 689-5135