Onda (御田)
Onda (ota, mita, omita, onta, onda, oden) refers to the territories owned by temples, shrines and the Imperial family and it also refers to the rites and festivals held there. It is also called as "Terada (Temple-Rice field), ""Kanda" and "Omita," however, they genrally refer to the territory itself, not the rites and festivals. It is also used for a synonym for dengaku and when it is read as oden, it generally means oden (a Japanse dish containing al kinds of ingredients cooked in a specal broth of soy sauce) of dishes.
Onda owned by temples and shrines in the whole of Japan had disappeared temporarily, as Agechi-rei (confiscation command of territory) issued in the beginning of Meiji period abolished territories of temples and shrines (temples and shrines estate). After that, some temples and shrines retrieved their Onda with donation from the neighboring residents; Ise-jingu Shrine keeps Onda in two locations. The Emperor himself plants and harvests rice at Onda inside Imperial Palace.
Rites and Festivals
Many rites and festivals related to Onda have been passed down in all parts of Japan, showing a close relationship between Japanese people and rice cultivation. Tawara no onda (Ta-asobi performed as a shrine ritual in Tawara), Isobe no Omita (Dengaku performed in the shrine festival in Isobe) and Kiragawa no Onta Matsuri (the Festival of Ontamachiman-gu Shrine in Kiragawa) are designated as intangible folk-cultural property.