Katori Jingū Shrine’s Rice Planting Festival

The Rice Planting Festival, also known as Katori Machi, is a festival to pray for an abundant harvest for the year. Katori Jingū Shrine’s Rice Planting Festival is considered to be one of Japan’s three greatest Rice Planting Festivals, the others being Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine’s festival in Osaka and Ise Jingū Shrine’s festival in Mie.

According to historical records, this festival had already been taking place since 1391.

The first day of the Rice Planting Festival is the Rice Paddy Cultivation Ceremony, which takes place in front of the prayer hall. This ritual imitates the rice paddy plowing scene, which is done before rice planting, using a sickle, a how, a plow, and a cow. Eight children perform a ritualistic rice dance and young female rice planters reenact the beginning of the rice planting process.

The second day is the Rice Planting Ceremony. Young children and Shinto priests walk from the shrine’s front approach to the rice paddy associated with the shrine. At the paddy, young female rice planters plant seedlings while singing traditional rice planting songs.

In addition, this festival takes place during the period in which the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, adding even more color to the festival.

Date: First Saturday and the following Sunday of April

Note: The Rice Paddy Cultivation Ceremony takes place on Saturday and the Rice Planting Ceremony takes place on Sunday. During the Year of the Horse, the festival only occurs on Sunday.

Time: Begins at 1:00 PM

Katori Jingū Shrine

1697-1 Katori, Katori City

• 10 min by car from JR Sawara Station
• 30 min walk from JR Katori Station

• Take the Chiba Kotsu Bus from JR Sawara Station bound for JR Omigawa Station via Kamisato. Get off at Katori Jingū Shrine bus stop.
• Take the Kantetsu Green Bus from JR Sawara Station bound for Katori Jingū Shrine.

Note: There are only a few busses per day.

• 2 min from Sawara-Katori IC on the Higashi-Kanto Expressway

• Take the Kantetsu Green Bus from Tokyo Station bound for Hakota Station. Get off at Katori Jingū Shrine bus stop and walk for 1 minute.
• Take the Chiba Kotsu Bus from Hamamatsu-chō Station or Tokyo Station bound for Chōshi via Yatsu. Get off at Sawara Katori bus stop and walk for 15 minutes.