Location: Kosawada, Kami-Koani Village
Site(s) of performance: The open space in front of Kosawada Bridge
Date(s): August 13
Category: Sasara and Horse Dance
This festival used to be called the Kosawada Lion Dance, but it is now called the Kosawada Horse Dance. That is because they have lost the dance of lions and retained only the horse dance, with some hand gestures as reminders of the lion dance of the old days. It is performed at Obon to appease the spirits of the ancestors. There used to be the representation of a daimyo’s procession with stick dance and manzai (celebratory speech performance). The horse dance is performed with a horse-shaped costume and armor. The dancer jumps up and down as if riding a horse. Umakata Bushi (horsemen’s songs) and folkloric songs of the Oiwake genre are sung.
