Aeno Koto - Aenokoto

Japanese: アエノコト - あえのこと

...The idea that the rice god resides in the last sheaf of rice is seen in this festival, which is very similar to the last sheaf-type custom widely passed down in Europe, in which the spirit of the grain resides in the sheaf of unharvested wheat. In some rural areas of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, the harvest ritual is called Aeno Koto, and it is said that on that day the rice god returns home from the rice field. The farmer dresses up in full attire, goes out to the rice field to welcome the rice god, takes him home to give him a bath, prepares a feast and entertains him. Here, like the rice spirit (Inadama) of Southeast Asia, the rice god is personified and is said to be both a god and a goddess.

From [Hot Springs]

...In this imperial court ritual of sharing a meal and sleeping with the gods, the emperor had to purify himself by bathing in the hot springs and prepare for a new state of mind and body. A similar thing can be seen today in the Aenokoto ceremony on the Noto Peninsula, known as the Niiname-sai ceremony among the people. This is a Shinto ritual in which the rice field god is led into a house after the autumn harvest, worshipped, and eaten together with offerings. At this time, the head of the house, as a priest, guides the rice field god into the bathhouse and has him take a bath....

From the Shimotsuki Festival

...It is a rice harvest festival and can be considered a folk Niiname-sai, but it is said that the festival is held about one month later than the actual harvest season because people are abstaining from things during this period. Representative examples include the Ushi-no-hi Festival in Kitakyushu, the Aeno-koto in Oku-Noto, the mountain festivals of Amakusa and Nagashima, the ancestor-relationship and Daijo-relationship festivals of the Chugoku region, as well as the ujigami festivals and Daishi-relationship festivals in various regions. There are also many Kagura-style festivals, such as the Toyama Festival, Fuyu-sai, and Hana-sai in the border areas of San-En-Shin-Yamato and Shinano, and the Shimotsuki Kagura at Mt. Horoha in Akita Prefecture.

From "God of the Fields"

...There are seven types of this: returning home from the fields, going from home to the fields, coming down from the mountains to the home, returning from the home to the mountains, going back and forth between home and the fields, lacking these traditions, and not coming and going and becoming a guardian deity in absentia. The Aeno Koto tradition in Oku-Noto is an event in which the rice field deity is welcomed and entertained from the fields to the home after the autumn harvest, and there used to be an event in the New Year to send him off from the home to the fields. The former was originally held on November 5th, now December 5th, and the latter was originally held on January 9th, now February 9th. ...

From [Tawara]

...In addition, people would celebrate by sticking a pine tree, the deity of the New Year, on a straw rice sack, or by arranging mochi flowers on a straw rice sack. In the Aenokoto ceremony (welcoming the rice field god) in Oku-Noto, the rice sack was considered the sacred object of the rice field god, and was worshiped with offerings. Sandawara (Sandawara) [Iijima Yoshiharu]...

From the Niiname Festival

...Nihi and Nifu are also closely related to Niho, which means rice piling. Aeno Koto, a folk event in the Hokuriku region, and Toukan-ya in the Kanto region are harvest-related events that have been held since ancient times among the people and are the basis of Niiname. Daijosai (Great Offering Ceremony) [Tatsuo Hagiwara]. ...

From [Yanagida Village]

...Many people move to the Keihin and Hanshin areas to work. The Aenokoto ceremony, which is held to welcome the rice field god into the house, is a nationally designated important intangible folk cultural asset. There are hot springs in Yanagida and Kurokawa.

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "Aeno Koto" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…最後に刈り取った稲束のなかに，田の神が宿るという考えがかいま見られるが，この田の神の祭りは，ヨーロッパに広く伝えられている，刈り残されたムギの束のなかに穀霊が宿るという最後の束型の習俗とよく似ている。また，石川県の能登半島の一部の農村では，収穫儀礼をアエノコトといって，その日，田の神がたんぼから家に帰ると伝えられ，農家の主人が正装して，たんぼに出かけて田の神を迎え，家にお連れしてふろ(風呂)に入れ，ごちそうをととのえて田の神を供応する。ここでは，東南アジアの稲魂（いなだま）と同じように，田の神が擬人化され，男神とも女神ともいわれている。…

【温泉】より

…神と共饗共寝するこの宮廷儀礼では，天皇は湯に入ることによって禊祓をし新たな心身状態へのよみがえりを準備しなければならなかったからである。同様のことは今日，民間の新嘗祭として知られる能登半島のアエノコトの行事においてもみられる。これは秋の収穫のあと田の神を家にみちびいてまつり，神饌を供して共食する神事であるが，このとき司祭者としての家の主人は田の神を湯殿に案内して湯あみをさせる。…

【霜月祭】より

…稲の収穫祭で，民間の新嘗祭といえるが，祭りが実際の収穫期より1ヵ月ほど遅いのはこの間物忌（ものいみ）に服するためと説明されている。北九州の丑の日祭，奥能登のアエノコト，天草や長島の山祭，中国地方の先祖講，ダイジョウ講のほか，各地の氏神祭や大師講などが代表的なものといえる。また三遠信の国境地帯の遠山祭，冬祭，花祭や秋田県保呂羽（ほろは）山の霜月神楽のように神楽形式の祭りを行う場合も多い。…

【田の神】より

…これには，田から家へ帰る，家から田へ出て行く，山から家へ降りてくる，家から山へ帰る，家と田とを去来する，これらの伝承を欠く，去来せず留守神となる，という7種の型がある。奥能登に伝わるアエノコトは秋の収穫後に田から家へ田の神を迎え饗応する行事で，かつては正月に家から田に送る行事もあった。前者はもとは11月5日，今は12月5日に行い，後者はもとは1月9日，今は2月9日に行われてきた。…