神楽の雲

Ornaments suspended from the ceiling of a mikouya. The white lid used in Shugendo (or the canopy in Buddhism) has been incorporated into Kagura. In Tsugao and Okochi, a rope is attached to the top of the cloud and a pulley is passed through it, allowing it to be swung up and down by human hands. When masked dancers, such as onijin and arashin, appear, they swing the clouds violently. The clouds are often decorated with pictures of dragons, but in Okochi they are covered with coloured paper in the shape of the moon and stars.