Men wearing loincloths pound rice to be used for making rice cakes that are then offered to the gods in return for a bountiful harvest. The Rice Cake Ceremony is unusual in that the men walk around the mortar as they pound the rice. This ceremony is said to have originated when Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto passed through the town of Sanba and the villagers gave him rice cakes they made.  It's held on the 3rd Saturday in October at Sanba-Ushitora Shrine.