Nibu is also called “Niburi.” The “ri” here and in Chiburi and Kōri all mean the same thing: a large village or community.


As can be inferred from the name, Niburi today teems with rows of houses and, in terms of size, is the second biggest district next to Kōri. You can see from the remnants of crop fields and rice paddies that this community thrived not off of fishing, but rather their farming.

The straw used during Jamaki are made of dried rice and wheat stalk—a practice that may have lingered from times where agriculture flourished. The people of Nibu also have a custom of choosing one person who had something auspicious happen to them in the past year and deeming him the “Man of the Year.” They crown him with a straw hat, and with him as the leader, the others raise their voices and conduct the Jamaki offering.