A giant dragon-serpent made of straw, parades through the town before entering a pond to offer prayers for rain.

A rainmaking ritual held once every four years. To call forth rain, a gigantic dragon serpent measuring 36 meters in length and weighing 3 tons is created using bamboo and straw. Local residents construct the body by layering straw onto a bamboo frame. On the day of the procession, children gather to decorate the dragon with kumazasa (bamboo grass). During the "Ritual of Soul Insertion,” sacred water brought from Raiden Shrine in Itakura, Gunma Prefecture, is offered to the dragon, transforming it into a "dragon deity.”

On the day of the event, around 300 carriers, drenched in sweat under the scorching summer sun, parade the dragon deity along a roughly 2-kilometer route from Shirahige Shrine to Raiden Pond. Upon arriving at the pond, as the sound of the horagai (conch shell) echoes, the dragon deity enters the water, circles around inside the pond, and is finally dismantled all at once by the carriers. This act symbolizes the soul of the dragon deity ascending to the heavens. At that moment, the carriers scramble to seize the golden orb that adorned the dragon deity’s head, filling the surroundings with fervent energy.

Designated as a Nationally Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property.