F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-155
weird
Mizudome-no-mai (Rain-Stopping Dance)
水止舞みずどめのまい
D A T E2026-07-12
A rare 'rain-stopping' shishi (lion) dance rite performed in July at Gonshōji Temple (Shingon-shū Chizan-ha) in Ōta-ku, Tokyo. Tokyo Metropolitan Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Said to have been founded in the late Kamakura period to halt incessant rain, the rite ties up performers playing dragon deities with ropes and brings them onto the grounds, where three lions dance and pour water on them to 'stop the rain' — an inversion of the more familiar rain-asking rituals. A singular urban-temple rite.
H I G H L I G H T S
Highlights
- 01Tokyo Metropolitan Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property
- 02A nationally rare shishi dance performed to stop, not summon, rain
- 03Dragon-deity performers are bound with rope and brought into the grounds
- 04Three lions dance and pour water to stop the rain
- 05A singular urban-temple rite said to date from the late Kamakura period
D E E P D I V E
Deep Dive
R E F E R E N C E