陸前高田産業まつり Rikuzentakata Industry Festival

Usually held in the mid to late period of fall when most of the harvest is finished, many cities, towns and villages hold their own 産業まつり (sangyō matsuri), which when translated literally means “industry festival”. During these festivals, various primary industries within the cities, towns and villages showcase locality goods that are their source of pride and joy. Typically, each business within the industry would set up festival stalls that either provide more information about their operations, sell their products, or even offering activities to try your hand at their craft – depending on the nature of the business.

Rikuzentakata City is no exception. In 2018, Rikuzentakata City’s Industry Festival was held on the 3rd and 4th of November at the city’s new central district area. The festival grounds were divided up into sections corresponding to the city’s agricultural farming, marine, forestry　and commerce industries. Apart from the major industries present in Rikuzentakata City, there were other booths as well that had ties and relations to the city.

Among them were some booths set up by delegations from Nagoya City, due to the strong friendships forged when the city extended their support during the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 when Rikuzentakata City was nearly annihilated. As a continued act of goodwill and friendship, booths showcasing and selling Nagoya City’s well-known foods were set up；among which was a delicious 猪ドン(inoshishi don) (Wild Boar Rice Bowl).

Another booth that was set up was one that promoted Singapore due to Rikuzentakata City’s role in the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics & Paralympics as a host town to the Singapore delegation team, as well as having friendship ties with Singapore since the Great East Japan Earthquake. The booth was setup to promote the city’s ties with Singapore as well as to further deeper understanding about Singapore through panels, quizzes, pamphlets and etcetera. Visitors who come to the booth and participate in the quiz received a laksa flavoured cup noodles manufactured by Nissin Foods. Laksa is one of Singapore’s well known cuisines, which is a noodle soup dish made with coconut milk, chilli and spices along with a generous helping of beansprouts, fish cakes and prawns.

The festival was also graced with many stage events. One of them was apparently a well-known and liked activity among the young and old called 餅まき(mochi maki) (lit. mochi scattering); in which large groups of people gather around an elevated platform hoping to catch mochi that is thrown off the platform in ample amounts. The competition can be rather fierce, with even the elderly displaying much enthusiasm and gusto in trying to catch the thrown mochi and scrambling on the ground for any that finds its way down there. I managed to get quite a handful of mochi over many iterations of the event and I encourage you to try your hand at getting some if you happen to come across such an event! Do be mindful of small children and the elderly though.

One activity that I had the privilege to take part in was餅つき (mochitsuki) (pounding steamed rice into dough to make mochi). Perhaps some of you may have seen a viral video depicting skilled people pounding mochi dough in perfect seamless rhythm. Pounding the dough in the wooden usu mortar (うす) with the traditional kine mallet (きね) was tougher than I thought particularly because I was mindful and afraid I would hit the hand of the person moulding and wetting the dough and I was not sure what was the sufficient strength to hit the dough with. The pounded mochi was then served fresh with a special pecan nut paste. On a side note, pecan nuts are an up and coming agricultural project to revitalise the economy in Rikuzentakata City as Japan’s domestic pecan crop plantation.

Other stage events include representatives from the various industries coming up to the stage to promote their goods, live performances from various artistes and groups, an appearance by Rikuzentakata City’s character mascot Takata-no-Yume chan (who also helped lead a morning exercise routine), just to name a few.

Should you feel like catching the festivities and enjoying the fresh produce and goods from the bountiful harvest (at special prices), do keep a lookout on the various industry festivals as they do tend to change when they are held from year to year.