Nansugama Nenbutsu Odori

Festival highlights

Highlights include the girls’ standing and seated dances, performed with fans or ayatake bamboo sticks.

Their costumes vary by season, from furisode to yukata, and their tsumaori-gasa hats, decorated with flowers and cut-paper ornaments, are also eye-catching.

A nenbutsu chant refrain is woven into each line of the songs, and each dance has its own distinctive movements.

A traditional dance of Tamakawa Village girls, accompanied by nenbutsu chants, flutes, and bells

What to expect

During the offering, the girls perform several pieces in sequence to the flute, bells, and singing of the preservation society.

Some dances use 2 fans, while others use ayatake bamboo sticks filled with azuki beans. There are both standing dances and seated dances performed kneeling upright.

At the end of the piece, the performers chant “Ekō Jōbutsu, Namu Amida Butsu.” The full program is said to take about 25 minutes.

Location and access

Address

Tamakawa Village

Host municipality 福島県玉川村

This map shows the surrounding area, not the exact venue location.

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Dates and season

Frequency

Every year

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Origins and History of Nansugama Nenbutsu Odori

The Nansugama Nenbutsu Odori is said to have begun around the Keian era in the early Edo period, when boys and girls aged 14–15 danced to honor the Buddha.

The tradition died out for a time, but was revived in 1952 based on the memories of Kesa Ōno.

It was subsequently passed down by the preservation society, designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Fukushima Prefecture in 1975, and selected by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1978.

Official information

The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Database of Nationally Designated Cultural Properties introduces the Nansugama Nenbutsu Odori as an “intangible folk cultural property for which measures such as the creation of records should be undertaken.”

The Tamakawa Village Tourism and Products Association also provides information about how the Nansugama Nenbutsu Odori Preservation Society carries on the tradition and performs it as an offering.

Nansugama Nenbutsu Odori at a Glance

The Nansugama Nenbutsu Odori is a traditional performing art passed down in the Nansugama district of Tamakawa Village, in which girls dance to nenbutsu chants, songs, bells, and flutes.

The dances feature standing and seated performances with fans or ayatake bamboo sticks, seasonal costumes, and movements that vary from piece to piece.