Niiname-no-Matsuri

The Niiname-no-Matsuri is one of Japan's imperial court rituals and the most important harvest festival, in which the Emperor offers the newly harvested grain of the year to Amaterasu-Ōmikami and other deities, partakes of it himself, and gives thanks for an abundant harvest. Held annually on November 23rd, it is a national observance concerning all of Japan rather than any specific region.

Its origins are extremely ancient, with descriptions found even in the Nihon Shoki, reflecting a tradition in which Japan's agricultural culture—developed alongside rice cultivation—is intertwined with imperial ritual. The ceremony, in which the Emperor shares the new grain with the deities, is conducted solemnly late at night in the Shinkaden hall of the Imperial Palace. The first Niiname festival performed by an Emperor after his accession is especially called the Daijōsai, a once-in-a-reign rite of great solemnity.

Today, November 23rd is a national holiday known as Labor Thanksgiving Day, which originally derived from the day of the Niiname festival. Niiname rituals offering new grain are also widely held at shrines throughout the country. As an observance symbolizing the Japanese spirit of gratitude for the harvest and prayer for the coming year's abundance, it has been continuously handed down to the present day.