DESCRIPTION:
Mibu no Hana Taue 壬生の花田植 Mibu Rice Planting Ritual by Kari Gröhn karigrohncom, Chiyoda, Mibu, Kitahiroshima-cho, Yamagata-gun, Hiroshima-ken 千代田 壬生 北広島町 山県郡 広島県

Mibu no Hana Taue has been inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The main purpose of the hana taue ritual is to pray for a good harvest to the rice field deities. Elaborately decorated cattle (kazariushi) plough the water-laden paddy. Cattle is dressed with decorated saddles (kazarigura), colourful necklaces, and flowers (hana). Rice-planting girls (saotome) plant rice seedlings in unison to the rhythm of male drummers behind them. The girls wear hats made from sedge and their sleeves are tied back with red sashes. The drummers’ band of the fields (tahayashi) consists of drums, hand bells, and flutes. Rice-planting song (taue-uta) for welcoming the god of rice paddies to the field, has three parts: morning song (asa-uta), day song (hiru-uta),and evening song (ban-uta). A person who takes the lead in rice planting and music is similar to the rice field deity (sanbai). The leader uses a musical instrument called sasara to beat the time.

Mibu no Hana Taue Ritual is carried out by the Mibu and Kawahigashi communities in Kitahiroshima to celebrate the rice deity. On the first Sunday of June, after the actual rice transplanting has ended, the ritual enacts the stages of planting and transplanting. The rice field is levelled with an implement (eburi), said to contain the deity of rice fields. Once this ritual transplantation is completed, the eburi is placed upside down in water with three bunches of rice seedlings. Transmission is ensured by the elders, who know the songs and music for rice planting and oversee the ritual’s smooth execution.