Members of youth groups of JA Mishima Kannami and Mishima Chamber of Commerce and Industry carrying mikoshi portable shrine with vegetables along walkways between fields to Mishima Taisha Shrine (in Mishima-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture)
Kotaro Yamada
– Vegetable Treasure Ship (Mishima-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture) –
The Youth Group of the Mishima Kannami Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Mishima Kannami) and the Young Entrepreneurs Group (YEG) of the Commerce and Industry of Mishima (CCI Mishima) have joined hands to promote local agricultural produce. They dedicate a wooden boat packed with locally-grown vegetables to the Mishima Taisha Shrine in Mishima-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture, on November 23, the day of Niinamesai harvest festival, successfully making it a new attraction of the festival.
Presentation of local vegetables on treasure ship attracted attention of visitors. Vegetables were grown and prepared by local young farmers.
Their presentation of the 4-meter-long treasure ship with local vegetables on the stage is already one of the highlights of the festival.
Nameplates of more than 30 young vegetable dedicators on display.
The wooden boat was made jointly by the two associations and decorated using sweet potatoes, Chinese cabbages and all the other colorful local specialties grown in Hakone, Seiroku, Mishima areas.
The idea of dedicating a vegetable treasure ship came up while the two groups were exploring opportunities to befriend with each other. Then it started in 2012 as one of the new attractions of the festival with a long established history.
Young members of JA and CCI performing ablutions in cold water.
Hirokazu Maejima, 31, Chairman of the Niinamesai festival planning committee from the JA youth group, said, “We want to make it a real traditional event that will last for 100 years.”
On the day before the festival, all 24 members of the two associations went to Takigawa Jinja Shrine, also in Mishima, to perform cold water ablutions by fall. Then they carried the mikoshi portable shrine with vegetables to the Mishima Taisha Shrine.
They also attended lectures on local history and culture. A series of all these joint activities toward the festival has deepened their friendship while helping them to smoothly develop the collaboration between agriculture, commerce and industry.
Fumitada Horie, 47, President of the YEG of the CCI Mishima, said, “Yong farmers are our partners to build better future of Mishima-shi together. We want to learn together, work hard together and think of the future together.”
(Nov. 30, 2014)