02: Burning fields to cultivate Karamushi

04: Covering the burnt field with rice straw

03: Young bud of Karamushi

Karamushi, or a Ramie, which has strong and shiny characteristic fiber, had been cultivated in various parts of the country as to use as the materials for high-grade Karamushi weave. The main producing center has now narrowed down to Fukushima and Okinawa prefecture. In the Showa village, Fukushima prefecture, Karamushi thread has been produced and supplied as the material for Ojiya-chijimi and Echigo-jyofu, important intangible cultural properties in Niigata prefecture, by cultivating and extracting fiber of Karamushi.\n01: Burning fields to cultivate Karamushi

4. Cord and ironwood stake at tug-of-war ground & The rattan cord will be tugged back and forth through a ironwood stake' s hole. Rattan cord used in Hương Canh tug-of-war festival must be at least 45m in length and has a diameter of 3-4cm

9. Tug-of-war of Giáy ethnic minorities in Lào Cai province at Xuống đồng (starting a new crop festival)

2. Tug -of-war of the Việt people in Hữu Chấp village, Bắc Ninh Province: In preparing for the tug-of-war festival, the village chose wealthy young men and “unstained” families and divided them into two team: East and West

7. Tugging the cord back (in Hương Canh festival , the Việt people in Hương Canh village, Vĩnh Phúc Province)

10. Tug-of-war of Tay people at Lồng Tồng (starting a new crop) festival in Lào Cai province

3. Tug-of-war of the Việt people in Hữu Chấp village, Bắc Ninh Province After all rituals were finished, tug-of-war started. Two teams, East and West, competed in three rounds; whoever win two rounds are considered the winner. If the winner is East team, villagers believe that they are going to have a good crop and vice versa. East team always was arranged to be a winner of the game.

8. The ironwood stake at the tug-of-war ground of the Việt people in Long Biên District, Hanoi City

5. The village senior who marks the scale, the main referee of 2013 Hương Canh tug-of-war matches of the Việt people in Hương Canh village, Vĩnh Phúc Province