A Film by Can Tamura

2024. 2K video. Color. 32 minutes.

Synopsis:

Aenokoto is a ritual formally known as “Oku Noto no Aenokoto.” It takes place on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The Noto Peninsula juts out into the Sea of Japan and consists of small agricultural and fishing communities. Today, the region has fewer than 60,000 people.

Aenokoto is performed twice a year. On December 5 farming families invite the deities of the rice fields (ta no kami-sama) into their homes to express gratitude for the harvest. On February 9, they guide them back into the fields.

Japanese scholars have been interested in Aenokoto since the 1930s. In 1976, Aenokoto was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property by the Japanese Government. In 2009, Aenokoto was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Produced by Naoko Yamada, Michael Dylan Foster, Ulara Tamura, and Can Tamura

Cinematography and Editing by Can Tamura

Additional cinematography by Michael Dylan Foster