男綱（おづな）
A rope of rice straw stretched across the Asuka River. It is replaced every year on Coming of Age Day.
Near Kanjō-bashi Bridge in Inabuchi, a rope of rice straw is strung across the Asuka River. The object hanging from its middle is shaped like a male phallus. Offerings of mandarin oranges skewered on bamboo sticks hang alongside it.
The rope is replaced every year. After a year of wind and rain it fades, and then a new one is hung in its place.
This ritual has been handed down in the two neighbouring communities of Inabuchi and Kayanomori; in Inabuchi it takes place every year on Coming of Age Day (the second Monday of January). It is said to be a prayer for many descendants and a rich harvest, and also a way to stop evil diseases from entering the village along this road and this river.
In Inabuchi the ritual is Shinto. A priest from Asuka-niimasu Shrine is invited to perform the prayers.
The rope is made at the foot of Kanjo-bashi Bridge. Straw gathered from the terraced rice fields is twisted together by three people at a time into a long rope. When it is finished, it is carried to Kanjō-bashi Bridge and hung over the river.
For a long time the rope was tied to trees on both banks, but since 2023 support poles have also been used.
Upstream in Kayanomori hangs Mezuna (Female Rope). That ritual is Buddhist: an altar is set up on a stone called Fukuishi, and the rope is hung after a monk chants sutras. It forms a pair with Ozuna.
Follow Prefectural Road 15 upstream from Inabuchi and you will see the rope overhead near Kanjō-bashi Bridge. You can look up at it from the road.
It is a short walk from the Asuka River stepping stones and the Inabuchi terraced rice fields. If you come on the day the rope is replaced, you can watch it being made from the start.
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稲渕の棚田
One of Japan's 100 finest terraced rice fields. In autumn, giant scarecrows appear.
飛鳥川の飛び石
No bridge, just stones set in the riverbed to hop across. A crossing often linked with a poem from the Man'yōshū.
朝風峠
A pass overlooking the Inabuchi terraced rice fields, reached by a narrow path through bamboo thickets.