Location: Kasuda, Odate City
Site(s) of performance: The cemetery and other places in the community
Date(s): August 13
Category: Sasara and Horse Dance
The community of Kasuda was founded by Sasaki Kuzaemon as Katsuda Village in 1517. A shugen ascetic of Haguro (in present-day Yamagata Prefecture) brought the lion dance, samurai servants’ dance, and stick dance here at the turn of the 18th century. Every year on August 13, the day of Obon, it is performed in the cemetery to appease the spirits of the ancestors and at individual houses’ entrances to pray for the safety of the community.
