Taketomi Island's Tanadui Festival

The Taketomi Island's Tanadui Festival is a traditional event in which seeds are sown on purified land to pray for safe harvests. During the festival, a variety of dances, kyogen farces, and other performances are conducted in offer to the gods, particularly during the two days of kanoetora and kanoto (the 27th and 28th of the traditional sexagenary cycle) in the 9th or 10th month of the traditional calendar. During this time, the island bustles with local residents and spectators from outside the area come to enjoy the sights. The festival has been conducted continuously for some 600 years, and in 1977 it was registered as a National Important Intangible Folk-Cultural Property.