F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-123
weird
Ryugasaki no Tsukumai (Pole-Top Dance)
龍ケ崎の撞舞りゅうがさきのつくまい
D A T E2026-07-26
A votive rite held on the final evening of the Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival each year in late July in Ryugasaki City, Ibaraki Prefecture. At the top of a pole approximately 14 meters tall erected on Nemachi Tsukumai Street, two dancers perform acrobatic feats — handstands, rope-walking, great wheel turns — to pray for abundant harvests and rain. Designated as a Nationally Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1999 and as an Ibaraki Prefecturally Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2010.
N O P H O T O
H I G H L I G H T S
Highlights
- 01Nationally Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property (1999) and Ibaraki Prefecturally Designated (2010)
- 02Handstands and great wheel turns performed at the top of a 14-meter pole
- 03Votive rite on the final evening of the Gion Festival
- 04Combined prayer for abundant harvests and rain
- 05Continued under a two-dancer system in the face of successor shortages
D E E P D I V E