This is one of the agricultural rituals of Aso and an important intangible cultural asset of Japan. Otaue Shinko Sai (Otaue Rice Cultivation Festival) is held on the day of the Aso Shrine festival (28th July), and is also commonly known as the Onda Matsuri (Onda Festival). The festival is a procession consists of four 'mikoshi' (portable shrines carrying the 12 deities of Aso shrine) and is led by a boy carrying a mask of the great deity Sarutahiko. The procession goes to the 'Ichi no Gyogu' (a temporary shrine which serves as a resting place for the mikoshi), here a ritual ceremony is performed and then the procession makes it way to 'Ni no Gyogu' (a second rest place) where a similar ceremony is held. In the evening, the procession returns to the main shrine. The procession is performed to pray for a successful rice harvest and is accompanied by Unari (ladies dressed head to toe in white robes), Shishi (lions), Saotome (rice planting girls), Dengaku (Shinto ceremonial music) and puppets on sticks. The songs sung in the rice growing ceremony and the 'Onta Song' sung during the procession are classics, and are extremely valuable not only in the history of performing arts but also in the history of Japanese literature. In particular, the rice growing song sung during the procession and the appearance of the puppets are rare among Japanese performing arts and are unique to the area.