Location: Fujikoto, Fujisato Town
Site(s) of performance: Asama Shrine, Hōshōji Temple, and other places in the community
Date(s): September 7 and 8
Designation: Prefecture-Designated Intangible Folkloric Cultural Property
Category: Sasara and Horse Dance
The Fujikoto-Kamiwaka Good Harvest Dance is performed as an offering at the annual festival of Asama Shrine. As its name states, it is danced to pray for good harvests, but also for the appeasement of the spirits of the ancestors. The lion dance here is danced by three lions, each performed by one person with a small drum at the waist. On the day before the festival, the performance is delivered on the premises of the shrine to appease the spirits of the ancestors. On the day of the festival, one group of performers makes a daimyo’s procession to the shrine to bring out the mikoshi (divine palanquin), and the other group performs the music, lion dance, and horse dance while waiting for the mikoshi to arrive. Once the mikoshi arrives, the music and dance performers usher the mikoshi around the community.
