Koshiji Rain-Calling Dance

The Koshiji Rain-Calling Dance, passed down in Koshiji, Tottori City, is a traditional performing art featuring a procession and dances that pray for rain and express gratitude for its blessings.

About Koshiji Rain-Calling Dance

The Koshiji Rain-Calling Dance is a procession of dancers passed down at Koshiji Shrine in Koshiji, Tottori City, expressing prayers for rain and gratitude for rainfall.

Sasara-zuri performers, stick dancers, child dancers, flute players, Shinpachi, the main dancers, and local musicians join the procession as it makes its way from the dance lodge to the shrine.

At the shrine, the dancers form a circle and perform, carrying on a tradition in which community prayers and performing arts come together.

It is designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property by Tottori Prefecture and has also been selected as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property by the national government.

Source: 国指定文化財等データベース / 越路雨乞踊 - とっとりデジタルコレクション

Festival highlights

One of the main highlights is the “Iriha,” when a procession of about 40–50 people, led by the Sasara-zuri performers, makes its way to the shrine.

The masked Sasara-zuri performers are followed by stick dancers who wave poles wrapped in red-and-white cloth, and child dancers carrying Japanese-flag fans. Their matching costumes add color to the procession.

At the shrine, the main dancers, wearing flower hats, form a circle and dance clockwise to songs and drums.

Another distinctive feature is that Shinpachi delivers a speech between dances.

Source: 越路雨乞踊：鳥取伝統芸能アーカイブス

A traditional performing art in Koshiji, carrying prayers for rain and gratitude through dance

What to expect

The procession proceeds in this order: Sasara-zuri performers, stick dancers, child dancers, flute players, Shinpachi, the main dancers, and local musicians. It makes its way from the shrine approach to the area before the deities.

At the shrine, the main dancers form a circle and perform dances such as “Shinobu,” “Hato Kobune,” “Ito-take,” and “Kamakura.”

Shinpachi delivers a speech between dances, and the performance concludes with “Joden (Deha),” as the procession forms again and leaves the shrine.

The performance consists of 10 types of dances.

How to take part

Visitors can watch the event.

Location and access

Venue and address

Koshiji Shrine (Koshiji, Tottori City).

Train and bus

About 10 minutes by taxi from Tsunoi Station on the JR Inbi Line.

Take the Yonesato Line from Tottori Station, get off at Koshiji bus stop, and walk for 5 minutes.

By car

From the direction of Tottori Station, take the Tottori-Minami Bypass toward Okayama. At Miyagacho Intersection, take Prefectural Route 292; at Kurata Intersection, take Prefectural Route 226; then take Prefectural Route 293 at Nenbutsu Intersection. Turn right after 2 km.

Parking

近隣に越路公民館があります。

The roads around the shrine are narrow, so take care when passing through.

Address 654 Koshiji, Tottori, Tottori Prefecture

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Dates and season

The Koshiji Rain-Calling Dance is said to be offered in autumn in years when rain comes after prayers for rain.

The offering at Koshiji Shrine takes place irregularly, after rainfall, so it is not an event held on a set date every year.

Accommodation and hotels PR

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 Tottori Prefecture / Tottori City (the search is not centered on the festival venue)

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Tips for your visit

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Photo and data sources

写真：663highland / CC BY 2.5

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Origins and History of Koshiji Rain-Calling Dance

It is said that people in the Koshiji district have long prayed for rain during droughts because water was scarce and rice cultivation depended on rainfall.

There is also a tradition that Gozu Tenno was enshrined here from Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto about 1000 years ago.

When rain was granted, people held acts of gratitude, such as dances and sumo, in response to a divine message received through a fortune slip. Records of the dance date back to 1756 (Horeki 6).

Official information

Basic information about the cultural property can be found in the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ “Database of Nationally Designated Cultural Properties.”

Its origins, dance programs, offering schedule, and travel information are available in the Tottori Traditional Performing Arts Archives, supervised by the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education.