Location: Izumi-cho, Daisen City
Site(s) of performance: The house of the priest of Izusan Shrine, Chōfukuji Temple, and other places in the community
Date(s): July 1–14
Designation: City-Designated Intangible Folkloric Cultural Property
Category: Shishi-Kagura
This shishi-kagura is a lion dance with two performers for one lion. It is not a kagura of the Dai-Kagura kind. It is what may be called prayer kagura. The lion visits about 30 communities for prayers around Izusan Shrine in Hanadate, such as Hanadate, Yanagi-machi, Nakano, Futatsuya, Karaseki, and Ōhana-chō. The origin is unclear, but one saying tells that the area suffered a contagious disease in the Genroku period (1688–1704), but the priest of Kumano Shrine suppressed the disease with this shishi-kagura. The lion head is possessed by the Miura family, the administrator of Izusan Shrine, and has the 2nd year of the Genna period (AD1616) written on the upper inside of its mouth.
