Although the Geihoku region of Hiroshima Prefecture abounds with many
forms of traditional folk entertainment, the Hanadaue Event of Mibu is second
to none. It is a rice planting event complete with beautifully harnessed bulls,
saotome (rice planting maidens) in splashed-pattern kimono and sugegasa hats,
and master drummers. Performed in a paddy field, the Hanadaue portrays an
image right out of an old Japanese picture scroll.
 The Hanadaue is also called dengaku or hayashida, which both roughly mean
"paddy field music event". It is believed that Hanadaue originated either as a
religious performance asking for a rich harvest or as entertainment to ease the
pains of hardworking farmers.
 As rice farming has become mechanized over the last ten years, the number
of houses raising domestic cattle has decreased so much that it has become hard
to find sufficient bulls for the event. The massive bulls with fine coats are
particularly difficult to find these days. People even go all the way to Shimane
Prefecture to secure bulls.
 "It never rains on the day of Hanadaue," as they say in Chiyoda. After
finishing their own rice planting, the local people leisurely get together at the
Hanadaue on a sunny, warm first Sunday in June.