Location: Yunomata, Uchikawa, Gojome Town
Site(s) of performance: The open space in front of Yunomata Community Center
Date(s): August 14
Category: Bon Dance
The Bon dance at Yunomata has a long history. It appeared in ‘Yūranki’ (Travel Records) by the famous travel writer of the Edo era, Sugae Masumi, in the early 19th century. The Bon dance today is performed just for one evening, but it was a much longer event in the old days. It used to start on August 14 in the evening with the resounding beats of drums, the impromptu singing performance started on August 15 while people were still dancing, and was concluded with a masquerade dance on August 20. Afterwards, there was also a harvest dance festival, where people danced virtually the same dance numbers as the Bon dance festival for another couple of days.

About Bon Dance