Sumiyoshi Taisha, Osaka

As temperatures rise in the lead-up to summer, shrines all over Japan host rice-planting ceremonies to pray for a plentiful harvesting season. Located in the southern part of Osaka city, Sumiyoshi Taisha hosts the largest ceremony in the nation. In the ceremony, purified rice seedlings are planted one by one in the rice paddy. As the planting continues, a sequence of performances begin on the central stage featuring the yaotomemai dance by female kagurame dancers, samurai rituals by armored men, and dances by local children. The finale is the Sumiyoshi-odori, a dance that marks the completion of the ceremony, characterized by children dancing with fans.