At the start of rice cultivation early in spring, “Kinen-sai” will be held to pray for a rich harvest. In contrast to “Niiname-sai” held in autumn for expressing thanks for the year’s good harvest, “Kinen-sai” is called the “Spring Festival.” Mostly, festivals held at the shrine have close relations with agriculture, especially, rice cultivation. Above all, “Kinen-sai” and “Niiname-sai” are regarded as important festivals. In “Kinen-sai,” wearing masks of old men, the person working for the shrine and Shinto priest will perform “Tauchi-mai Shinji” by dancing with musical accompaniment and the sounds of a Noh chorus to express a series of farm operations from leveling the ground to rice harvesting to praying for an abundant harvest.
