Folk tales around OISHI

Lion Dance

The yearly festival of Ogawa Hachiman Shrine is held in October 17th. By the early years of Showa era (from 1925), there was an event called "Owatari" (literally "Going Across") in which people went across from the shrine to the horse riding ground carrying a wooden lion head attached to a board with chinese lion dance costume. In the years of early Showa, young guys in Sakamoto district tried to dedicate the Lion Dance to the shrine, they had learned how to perform the dance under the guidance of people of Misato Town which is next to there homeland. Unfortunately, troubles between the shrine and the parishioners caused by the way of keeping Daihannya Scriptures (see the above article) had interrupted holding the yearly festival for nearly 20 years, it resumed in 1994. On this occasion, people in Sakamoto district have decided to make the paused Lion Dance revive by establishing "Sakamoto Lion Dance Preservation Group".