Kotsubo-kagura Shrine Dance

Kotsubo-kagura is a six-hour ritual dance performed at the Kotsubo Hachiman Jinja Shrine Festival in Kure, usually on the weekend closest to October 20. The 21-dance sequence opens by summoning the deity Hachiman, then shifts to 16 entertaining pieces for both the god and the human crowd. The tradition traces back over 200 years to sailors from the lime-producing district of Hirokotsubo who encountered this style of kagura on Omi Island and brought it home. Women have participated since 1985, while elementary and middle school students from town now play the accompanying flutes.