The Mud Throwing Festival is a unique festival held at Aso Shrine on March 28 of every year. People throw mud at a priest who acts as the god of rice fields in an attempt to foretell whether they will have a bountiful or lean harvest. On the day of the festival, the priest (who is selected annually by lottery) changes into pure white shrine ritual robes and sits in a sacred area of the shrine grounds. After that, 12 children (parishioners) accompanying him simultaneously douse the priest in mud, and as he makes his way towards the traveler’s deity statue about 500 meters (1,640 feet) away, people grab mud that is prepared along the route and throw it at him. It is said that the more mud sticks to his body, the more bountiful the year’s harvest will be!

*About the Festival: Municipally-Designated Intangible Cultural Asset