F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-256

Hitori-zumo (Single-Wrestler Sumo) at Oyamazumi Shrine — Rice-Planting & Harvest Festivals

大山祇神社 一人角力（御田植祭・抜穂祭）おおやまづみじんじゃ ひとりずもう（おたうえさい・ぬきほさい）

On the island of Omishima in the Seto Inland Sea, Oyamazumi Shrine holds a rice-planting festival (5th day of the 5th lunar month) and a harvest festival (9th day of the 9th lunar month), at the heart of which is a ritual sumo bout unlike any other: hitori-zumo, or 'single-wrestler sumo.' A lone wrestler, called Ichirikizan, grapples a best-of-three match against an opponent who cannot be seen — the spirit of the rice plant itself. The match is choreographed so the invisible spirit wins two falls to one; by letting the spirit triumph, the ritual flatters it into guaranteeing an abundant harvest. What spectators actually witness is a single man being shoved, thrown, and sent tumbling through the air by nothing at all, performing both halves of a contest with his whole body. The rice-planting festival also features maidens (saotome) in white robes and red sashes planting the sacred paddy. Hitori-zumo is designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Ehime Prefecture; it nearly died out in the 1980s before locals revived it.