Sanada no Osada

Japan is known for its culture surrounding rice, a significant source of nutrition and symbol of life. Naturally enough, Japanese mythology features a number of episodes involving it, and some of such sites remain known to this day.

According to the myths, major deity Ninigi brought a stalk of rice from heaven when his son Hiko-hoho-demi no Mikoto was born and planted at the foot of the sacred mountain of Takachiho, in present-day Kirishima City, creating the first rice paddy in the world. It is also believed that amazake, a traditional fermented rice drink, was invented here to make up for the lack of breast milk for the newborn god.

In the early 19th century, the site was honored with a shrinelet to Tanokami, or the "god of the rice paddies," and later in 1915 a stone monument marking the mythical site was erected by the villagers. In 1928, the site was set to be protected as part of Kirishima-jingū Shrine, but became private property under the Agricultural Land Adjustment Law of 1945–46.

It was not until 1995, half a century later, that the sacred site was returned to the shrine at last. Now the Sanada no Osada ("long rice paddy") is a well-protected site of cultural significance, if largely forgotten and rarely visited by tourists flocking to the popular shrine of Kirishima.