Doronko Festivalどろんこ祭り

The annual Doronko Festival, known colloquially as the mud festival, is a tradition celebrated throughout the country in which participants cover themselves in mud while working in the paddy fields. This event, also referred to as the Onda Festival, has been held since 1881 (Meiji 14) as a way to honor the gods and pray for a bountiful harvest, good health, and to celebrate the joys of rice planting while expressing gratitude for the hard work of the agricultural community. Originally, such festivals were held as Shinto rituals. The festival was recognized as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Ehime Prefecture in 2000, and it occurs on the first Sunday of every July.

• Shirokaki

  Following the blessings at the nearby shrine, the festival commences with a procession of seven cows walking side-by-side through the paddy fields.

• Aze mame ue

  During the festival, four men use torches to brush off insects in the rice fields and perform a comical enactment of planting aze beans. The first man drives off the insects with smoke while the second tills the soil. The third man plants the beans and the fourth casts rice husks to cover them. As the performance progresses, it transitions into a slapstick play with the men pushing and throwing each other.

• Sanbai Oroshi

  Priests perform a Shinto ritual to offer prayers for a bountiful harvest, followed by a ceremony in which offerings from the fields, woods, and seas are presented.

• Saotome odori

  A special dance is performed by young people who represent rice planters.

• Otaue

  After the festival comes to an end and the mud has been ploughed, prayed over, and danced on, young children take part in planting the rice.