栂尾の臼太鼓踊り について
It takes place on 3 November every year on the grounds of Tsugao Shrine. Until 1971, the festival was held over two days, with Kami no Odori on 5 October of the lunar calendar and Hon Odori on the following 6 October. In the morning, the performers line up in two rows facing each other on the stone steps in front of the shrine's main building and sound drums and gongs. This is the Kami no Odori. The dancers enter the dance garden and dance the 'four verses', a song about the scenery of the four seasons. Afterwards, after a short break at the home of the Shinto priest, one of the performers dons an ogre's mask and dances "Rashomon" in a procession in the garden in front of the hall of worship. Rashomon is sung about Tsuna Watanabe's tale of the extermination of ogres on Mount Oe. After a short break, they perform 'Ofuna', 'Fuji no Makigari', then 'Hito no Komusume' and 'Sakeya' in sequence. A curtain is drawn across the dancing garden, and the dancers open the curtain and appear for each piece. The dancers are guarded by two men with six-foot long sticks, known as hariban, beside the dancing garden. At the end of the performance, villagers and worshippers dance with the dancers, holding sacred staffs and banners, to send off the gods. By this time, the evening darkness of late autumn is approaching.