A traditional Tsu event that entrusts wishes for a bountiful harvest and healthy, peaceful lives to rice porridge and a bamboo tube
Daihannya Sutra Rice-Porridge Divination
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Season / frequency
- Every year in mid-February / Every year
- Location
- Kitakuroda Community Center
- Area
- Mie Prefecture・Tsu City(From Tokyo: approx. 2 h 30 min–3 h · bullet train + connecting train)Prefecture-level estimate to a main station or airport, not the venue. Airport access, check-in and onward travel are extra; remote areas and islands can take much longer.
- Wishes behind the festival
- Last updated
- 2026/11/13
An event passed down in Kitakuroda for about 500 years, using a bamboo tube cooked in rice porridge to divine whether the rice harvest will be good or poor.
About Daihannya Sutra Rice-Porridge Divination
The Daihannya Sutra Rice-Porridge Divination is an event in which prayers are offered through recitation of the Daihannya Sutra for a bountiful harvest that year and, in turn, for each person’s health and freedom from illness and misfortune.
Held annually in mid-February at Kitakuroda Community Center.
The event has continued for about 500 years and is designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Tsu City.
Festival highlights
A highlight is watching a bamboo tube about 10 centimeters long cook in rice porridge before being broken open during the sutra recitation.
The bamboo tube is marked for early-, mid-, and late-ripening rice. The amount of rice inside is used to ask the Buddha whether the rice harvest that year will be good or poor.
The event is distinctive for its divination method using rice porridge and a bamboo tube.
A traditional Tsu event that entrusts wishes for a bountiful harvest and healthy, peaceful lives to rice porridge and a bamboo tube
What to expect
First, bamboo tubes marked “early-, mid-, and late-ripening” are placed in rice porridge to cook from the previous day.
On the day, the Daihannya Sutra is recited, and the bamboo tube is broken open during the recitation.
The amount of rice left inside the tube is used to judge whether the rice harvest will be good or poor, and prayers are offered for a bountiful harvest and freedom from illness and misfortune.
Location and access
- Venue and address
Kitakuroda Community Center, Kitakuroda, Kawage-cho, Tsu City
- Train and bus
National Route 306; about a 1-minute walk from the Sanco Bus stop “Kitakuroda”
Address Kitakuroda, Kawage-cho, Tsu City
Dates and season
- Season
Every year in mid-February
- Frequency
Every year
Accommodation and hotels PR
Showing nearby accommodation.
Prices and availability are current at the time of retrieval. For multi-night stays, only the first night’s price is shown. Confirm the final price and directions to the venue with the booking provider. Select your dates again when using the area search link. Search area: within 3 km of Central Mie Prefecture / Tsu City (the search is not centered on the festival venue)
Nearby attractions
ルーブル彫刻美術館
三重県津市の美術館
三重県立美術館
三重県津市にある公立美術館
三重県総合博物館
三重県津市にある公立博物館
石水博物館
三重県津市にある博物館
Origins and History of Daihannya Sutra Rice-Porridge Divination
The Daihannya Sutra Rice-Porridge Divination is an event that has continued for about 500 years.
Through prayers and recitation of the Daihannya Sutra, and divination using a bamboo tube cooked in rice porridge, people have sought to determine whether the rice harvest will be good or poor and prayed for a bountiful harvest.
In Showa 56, it was designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Tsu City.
Official information
Tsu City Official Website, “Intangible Folk Cultural Properties of the Kawage Area”
Daihannya Sutra Rice-Porridge Divination at a Glance
The Daihannya Sutra Rice-Porridge Divination is an event held in mid-February every year at Kitakuroda Community Center, and has continued for about 500 years.
During prayers and sutra recitation, a bamboo tube cooked in rice porridge is broken open, and the amount of rice inside is used to divine whether the rice harvest will be good or poor.
The event centers on wishes for a bountiful harvest and freedom from illness and misfortune.
Japanese Festivals.jp Editorial Team
Celebrating local culture and helping you discover a side of Japan you never knew.
Article updated: 2026/11/13
