An elegant devotional dance handed down at Itozaki-ji Temple, featuring Buddhist masks and gagaku
Itozaki Buddhist Dance
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Season / frequency
- Every other year on April 18 / Every other year
- Area
- Fukui Prefecture・Fukui City(From Tokyo: approx. 2 h 50 min–3 h 20 min · bullet train)Prefecture-level estimate to a main station or airport, not the venue. Airport access, check-in and onward travel are extra; remote areas and islands can take much longer.
- Highlights and activities
- Participation / viewing
- Spectators welcome
- Last updated
- 2026/10/19
The Itozaki Buddhist Dance is a traditional performing art passed down in front of the Kannon Hall at Itozaki-ji Temple, where masked dancers and gagaku come together. It is designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property and is dedicated every other year on April 18.
About Itozaki Buddhist Dance
The Itozaki Buddhist Dance is a traditional performing art from Itozaki, Fukui City, in which dancers wearing Buddhist masks perform to gagaku, drums, and bells.
The dance is dedicated on a stone-built stage set up in front of the Kannon Hall at Iozan Ryugein Itozaki-ji Temple. Young children wearing white child masks also take part.
Designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2004, it is preserved and passed down in the local community.
Source: 文化財詳細 | 福井県文化財ページ / 国指定文化財等データベース
Festival highlights
Highlights include the dancers’ golden Buddhist masks, robes, kesa, and tennkan, as well as their graceful, circular movements.
The performers enter to the gagaku piece Etenraku, followed by the first drum piece, the second drum piece, the Nembosatsu dance, and the third drum piece, accompanied by drums and bells.
The performance also features a scene in which Nembosatsu offers a lotus flower and a shaku in prayer, and concludes with a solo dancer.
An elegant devotional dance handed down at Itozaki-ji Temple, featuring Buddhist masks and gagaku
What to expect
At the signal of a small temple bell, musicians, horn guards, Nembosatsu, and adult dancers proceed from the Kannon Hall along a passageway to the stage.
When the gagaku music ends, the dance begins, accompanied by drums and bells from a tower. The dancers perform the various pieces, forming circles or lines at the center of the stage.
After Nembosatsu’s prayer, the performers form a line to gagaku music and return from the stage to the Kannon Hall, bringing the performance to a close.
How to take part
No information is provided on whether general visitors can take part as dancers.
The dancers are divided into “Busshu,” “Dago-butsu,” “Hashibutsu,” “Nenbosatsu,” and “Kakumori,” and are said to be limited to people born in Itozaki.
Visiting as a spectator and taking on a role in the should be considered separately.
Location and access
- Venue and address
Itozaki-ji Temple (22-5 Itozaki-cho, Fukui City).
Source: 今から見られる伝統行事を見に行こう！【4月編】 | 歳事トピックス | 福井のイベント(祭り・文化・観光)情報をご紹介 | ふくい四季のしあわせ綴り
Event venue 福井県福井市 糸崎寺
This map uses the venue name. Check the official guide for the event area and entrances.
Dates and season
Itozaki no Butsumai takes place every other year in April 18.
The 2026 event date has not been announced, and Fukui Prefecture’s cultural property guide lists the next event as Reiwa 9.
During the grand opening held every 32 years or the mid-level opening held every 17 years, the dance may be performed for 10 days each.
Source: 無形民俗文化財一覧〔10件〕
Accommodation and hotels PR
Showing nearby accommodation.
Prices and availability are current at the time of retrieval. For multi-night stays, only the first night’s price is shown. Confirm the final price and directions to the venue with the booking provider. Select your dates again when using the area search link. Search area: within 3 km of Central Fukui Prefecture / Fukui City (the search is not centered on the festival venue)
Nearby attractions
おさごえ民家園
福井県福井市にある博物館
一乗谷朝倉氏遺跡
福井県福井市にある遺跡
柴田神社
福井市にある神社
Shinmei Jinja
福井県福井市にある神社
福井市愛宕坂茶道美術館
福井県福井市にある美術館
福井市橘曙覧記念文学館
福井県福井市にある文学館
福井市水道記念館
福井県福井市にある博物館
福井市立郷土歴史博物館
福井県福井市にある博物館
福井市美術館
福井県福井市にある美術館
写真：藤谷良秀 (Yoshihide Fujitani) / CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo source ·
福井市自然史博物館
福井県福井市にある博物館
福井県立こども歴史文化館
福井県福井市城東にある博物館
Origins and History of Itozaki Buddhist Dance
Itozaki-ji Temple was founded in the early 8th century. According to tradition, the Buddhist Dance began in 756, when a bodhisattva performed a dance of joy as a Chinese monk enshrined the Thousand-Armed Kannon.
Itozaki-ji Temple is also said to have served as the betto temple of Itozaki Shrine, which is listed in the Engishiki. Records of pilgrimages from the 16th century also remain.
Illustrated records from the early 19th century confirm that the Buddhist Dance was being performed by that time at the latest.
Official information
Details of its cultural-property designation and public performance schedule can be found on the Fukui Prefecture cultural properties page.
An explanation of its status as a nationally designated cultural property and the dance sequence is also available in the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ database of nationally designated cultural properties.
Itozaki Buddhist Dance at a Glance
The Itozaki Buddhist Dance is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property from Itozaki, Fukui City, in which dancers wearing Buddhist masks perform to gagaku, drums, and bells.
It is dedicated on the stone-built stage in front of the Kannon Hall, following a set sequence from the entrance through multiple dances and prayers to the exit.
It is usually open to the public every other year on April 18; no date has been announced for 2026.
Japanese Festivals.jp Editorial Team
Celebrating local culture and helping you discover a side of Japan you never knew.
Article updated: 2026/10/19
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