F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-228

Nishi-Kanasa Shrine Dengaku Dance (Kanasa Dengaku)

西金砂神社田楽舞（金砂田楽）にしかなさじんじゃでんがくまい（かなさでんがく）

A dengaku ritual dance handed down at Nishi-Kanasa Shrine, perched on a mountaintop in Hitachiota City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and designated a Nationally Selected and Ibaraki Prefecture–designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Its most striking feature is the extreme rarity of its performance: the "small dengaku" (small festival) is held only once every six years, while the "great dengaku" (Isode Grand Festival) takes place just once every 72 years. The dance is said to date to the Heian period, performed to pray for peace under heaven, abundant harvests, and the benefit of all people. It consists of four segments—"Shihogatame," "Lion Dance," "Seed Sowing," and "Ippon Takaashi"—the last of which, danced atop a single tall stilt, preserves the movements of ancient dengaku. The next small dengaku is scheduled for 2027 (Year of the Sheep), and the slim chance of witnessing the great dengaku even once in a lifetime makes this festival utterly singular.