Nakadai Kagura (Nakadai Hashigo Shishi)

About this event

Nakadai Hashigo Shishi, also known as the Nakadai Lion Dance, is performed every year on the last Sunday of August as a Kazematsuri (wind festival) event at Omiya Shrine in the Nakadai district. In the past, a wind festival was held on the 210th day counting from Risshun (the onset of spring) to calm typhoons and pray for bountiful harvests, warding off evil spirits, good health, and longevity. It is a performing art where a two-person lion climbs a ladder leaned against the sacred giant ginkgo tree on the shrine grounds to pray for a good harvest. The lion dances atop a large ladder about 13.7 meters high with 33 rungs (currently a ladder of about 6.5 meters), praying to protect crops and Sanbu cedar from damage. Ascending the ladder to the lively melodies of ohayashi music, heroic dances are performed featuring acrobatic feats such as scattering confetti, bending the upper body backward in a 'denguri' posture, and performing handstands on top of the ladder.

Venue

Omiya Shrine

1367 Nakadai, Yokoshibahikari-machi, Sanbu-gun, Chiba 289-1741