Katori Jingu Otaue Sai: A Great Rice Planting Rite

On the first Saturday of April and the Sunday that follows, Katori Jingu in Katori City, Chiba Prefecture, holds Otaue Sai, its great rice planting rite. Katori Jingu is the head shrine of roughly four hundred Katori shrines across Japan, and this is one of its principal festivals, offered in prayer for an abundant harvest. The first day brings the field tilling ceremony, performed in front of the worship hall; the second day brings the planting ceremony, carried out in the shrine's sacred paddy. It is counted with the rites of Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka and Izawa no Miya in Mie as one of the three great rice planting festivals of Japan, and records show it was already being performed in 1391.

Breaking the Ground before the Worship Hall

The tilling ceremony begins at one in the afternoon on the first day, in the forecourt of the worship hall. There is no real paddy here, yet with sickle, hoe, plough and a live ox, the participants act out the whole sequence of preparing a field before planting. The ox is led slowly across the gravel by its handler, officiants repeat the motions of turning the soil, and after a few minutes the imaginary field seems genuinely to exist in front of the shrine. Eight children then perform the field dance, small hands raising their implements in unison while the court music drifts up into the cedars. The day closes with a first symbolic planting by the women who represent the rice planters.

Planting the Sacred Paddy

The second day also begins at one in the afternoon. This time the children and the priests process out along the approach and beyond the precinct to the sacred paddy. When the line of figures emerges from the new spring foliage onto the bank of the field, the surrounding countryside becomes the backdrop for the ritual. The planters step into the water in a single row and, singing the planting songs, set the young rice into the mud one shoot at a time. Hands move to the slow measure of the song, the smell of wet earth rises, and frogs call from the ditches. It is a performance, but it is also real work: the rice planted on this day grows through the summer and is offered before the deity in autumn.

The Shrine and Its Spring Calendar

Katori Jingu has stood in this corner of the old province of Shimosa for many centuries. Its calendar follows the agricultural year closely: the grand festival falls on 14 April, the shikinen shinkosai on 15 April, and the harvest thanksgiving on 23 November. Otaue Sai stands at the head of that cycle. Many visitors combine it with a walk through the preserved merchant streets of Sawara.

Tips for Visiting

Both ceremonies start at one in the afternoon and run for about an hour. This is a ritual rather than a spectacle, and the proper way to watch is quietly. Viewing space in front of the worship hall is limited, so arrive around thirty minutes early if you want a clear line of sight. The sacred paddy on the second day is a short walk beyond the precinct, so wear shoes suited to a farm track. Early April here can still be cold, and the cedar-shaded approach keeps the air cool, so bring a layer.

Getting There

The nearest station is Sawara on the JR Narita Line, about ten minutes by taxi. From JR Katori Station it is roughly two kilometres, about thirty minutes on foot. From Tokyo Station, the Kantetsu Green Bus bound for Hokota stops at Katori Jingu Mae, five minutes from the shrine, while the express bus toward Choshi stops at Sawara Katori, about fifteen minutes away. By car, the shrine is about 1.5 kilometres from the Sawara-Katori interchange.

Practical Information

• Dates: The first Saturday of April (tilling ceremony, 13:00) and the following Sunday (planting ceremony, 13:00)
• Venue: The forecourt of the worship hall and the sacred paddy of Katori Jingu (Katori 1697-1, Katori City, Chiba)
• Enquiries: Katori Jingu, 0478-57-3211
• Access: About 10 minutes by taxi from Sawara Station on the JR Narita Line; about 30 minutes on foot from JR Katori Station; Kantetsu Green Bus to Katori Jingu Mae, then 5 minutes on foot
• By car: About 1.5 km from the Sawara-Katori interchange
• Shrine office: 8:30 to 17:00 (prayer reception to 16:30, treasures to 16:00)
• Official website: https://katori-jingu.or.jp/

* Dates, details and prices are subject to change. Please check the official website before you go.

(Sources: Katori Jingu official website, Katori City official website)