Ollie Diary day7

May the 21th

Today is more special than usual, as this is the day the ceremony of the first planted rice shoots of the season takes place. In fact, most of the rice fields have already been sown, but one has been left unplanted for this symbolic day. The Irie-san field was chosen, which is an opportunity to hold both a religious ceremony and an educational event for the young children of elementary school.

The aim is to pass on to these youngsters the ardour of great labour, to see how rice was planted by hand in the past and to participate actively in the life of the village.

At the edge of the field, the priest recites prayers to summon the gods and bless the field. Holding up a tree branch decorated with paper strips, he asks everyone to bow their heads for, I suppose, the protection and acceptance of the gods.

Then the children set off to plant the first sprig in the muddy water.

Everyone then joins them in planting the rice, in the form of sprouted strands, in a row. Under the gaze of an army of cameras, we spent the first few hours of the morning planting the rice with our feet in the mud. What a great experience!

Irie Takae-san, the neighbour, has bravely prepared somen そめん for everyone, a cold noodle soup with raw vegetables, which in its simplicity is perhaps my favourite dish since I arrived.

In the afternoon, Kei-san takes me to a woodturner nearby. A small man of seventy-four received us very gently, along with his wife. For more than an hour, we talk as best we can about his work, in particular the making of beautiful hinoki wooden cups.

This man has won many awards: he has made miniature replicas of temples that are absolutely breathtaking. Once again, it's a pleasure for me to rediscover the comforting and dusty atmosphere of a wood craftsman's workshop, which I sometimes miss. At the end, they offered me a cup...knowing what effort and time it took to do it, this is again so much generosity I feel I don't deserve, and I feel very gratefull.

The day ends with another onsen, which I don't think I'll ever get tired of.