The traditional event of "insect feeding" to drive away pests on rice with a torch fire was held on Shodoshima Island in Kagawa Prefecture on the 2nd.
The "insect feeding" in the Hidoyama district of Tonosho Town, Kagawa Prefecture on Shodoshima Island is said to have started in the Edo period, and is an intangible folk cultural property of the town that is held every year on the "Hannatsu Birth" day, when rice planting comes to an end.
About 200 people, including members of the Children's Association, parents, and local people, gathered at the shrine to pray for a bountiful harvest, and then lit torches called fires brought by the participants, which are about 1 meter 20 centimeters to 1 meter 50 centimeters long.
Then, with the hope that pests would not get on the rice, we walked slowly to the river about 1 km away while holding a fire in the rice field where the rice had been planted.
During the rainy season for the first time in a long time, many onlookers visited the roadside and enjoyed the fantastic summer tradition of torches slowly moving through the rice fields.
A man who participated after last year said, "I am impressed by the annual event as a summer tradition, and I was happy to be able to walk with a torch."
In addition, a woman who participated for the first time said, "I think it is a very beautiful and good event."