Location: Kami-Omachi, Omagari, Daisen City
Site(s) of performance: Suwa Shrine
Date(s): February 15 (the day of annual festival of Ichi Shrine, a shrine within the premises of Suwa Shrine)
Designation: City-Designated Intangible Folkloric Cultural Property
Category: Miko-Kagura and Yudate-Kagura
There is a record that the festival of Ichi Shrine was held on January 15, 1826. It is not known whether the dance was performed then, but at least the festival of Ichi Shrine is that old. Three dances are performed, Go-Chōshi (Five-Clap Dance), Sakaki-Mai (Sacred Tree Dance), and Toriko-Mai (Bird Dance), which are also collectively called Toriko-Mai. For the dance of Toriko-Mai, as the last number of the program, the dancer wears a hunter’s outfit with his sleeves tied up and puts on a brown bird helmet to dance as a rooster.
