(Video Included) Ueda Ugan Performed at Ukinju Hainju to Pray for Health and Abundant Harvest
Residents of Nakandakari perform the rice planting ceremony and pray for a bountiful harvest. (February 10, Ukinju Hainju in Hyakuna Tamagusuku in Nanjo, Photograph by John Matsumoto)
February 11, 2022 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Sanemichi Kinjo
On February 10, the Ueda Ugan (rice planting festival) was held at Ukinju Hainju in Hyakuna Tamagusuku in Nanjo, which is said to be the birthplace of rice cultivation in the Ryukyu Islands. The Ueda Ugan is a traditional event in Nakandakari, and participants pray for an abundant harvest and health. While listening to the sound of the pure spring water flowing from Ukinju Hainju, three men from Nakandakari planted rice and prayed for the year’s harvest to be bountiful.
The Ueda Ugan is held every year on the first day of the horse after the lunar new year. This year, the number of attendees was restricted and the festival was simplified to adapt to major measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Masanori Oshiro is a member of the Nakandakari rice producers’ association and participated in the planting. “This was my first time planting rice as part of the ceremony, so it was a very meaningful experience,” he says.
(English translation by T&CT and Ellen Huntley)
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