Tsunuki Hōsai Taiko Dance

Festival highlights

The dancers form two circles around shirasu piled in the center: 2 small-taiko players and 2 gong players make up the inner circle, surrounded by 16 large-taiko players.

Partway through, 3 singers line up outside the gong players, bringing the total to 23.

The “Mikki,” a circle dance performed before the dedication, is unusual and rarely seen in other taiko dances.

Tsunuki’s dance of gratitude for a bountiful harvest, passed down through two concentric circles, gongs, and taiko

What to expect

During the dedication, 8 dances are performed in the Mae-niwa and 9 in the Ushiro-niwa.

The large taiko are played gently to avoid making a loud sound, and before the dances, performers do a circle dance called “Mikki.”

Another guide says that after the dedication at the shrine, the three taiko dance groups return to their respective districts and dance until evening.

How to take part

必要人数：23人

Location and access

Venue and address

Amenominakanushi Shrine (12072 Tsunuki, Kaseda, Minamisatsuma City)

Address 12072 Tsunuki, Kaseda, Minamisatsuma City

Dates and season

Season

Every year on October 27

Frequency

Every year

Accommodation and hotels PR

Origins and History of Tsunuki Hōsai Taiko Dance

Some say the dance originated in mythology or in celebrations of Minamoto no Yoritomo’s founding of the Kamakura shogunate.

Another theory is that it developed from dances influenced by nenbutsu odori, as well as rainmaking and insect-chasing dances performed by farmers, into a dance using gongs and taiko to celebrate victory and give thanks for a bountiful harvest.

It was designated an intangible folk cultural property of Kagoshima Prefecture on June 5, Showa 39 (1964).

Official information

The Kagoshima Prefecture guide to the “Tsunuki Hōsai Taiko Dance” includes its origins, dance formations, dedication date, venue, and cultural-property designation.

For inquiries, contact Minamisatsuma City Hall.

Tsunuki Hōsai Taiko Dance at a Glance

The Tsunuki Hōsai Taiko Dance is a prefecturally designated intangible folk cultural property, dedicated at Amenominakanushi Shrine in Tsunuki, Kaseda, Minamisatsuma City.

Its distinctive features include two concentric circles formed by small-taiko players, gong players, large-taiko players, and singers, as well as the “Mikki” dance performed before the dedication.

The number of dances differs between the Mae-niwa and Ushiro-niwa, and the dance has been passed down as an expression of gratitude for a bountiful harvest.