O-kagura Festival

Festival highlights

The highlights are the distinctive performances featuring masks and costumes.

In “Hanauri,” the performer wears a Kurojō mask, pinches their nose, and jumps about while shouting.

In “Shirami Fukui,” the performer wears ragged clothes and pretends to pick off lice, making gestures as if scratching various parts of the body.

Other pieces passed down include “Kyōdai Oni,” “Donzuku,” “Yubayashi no Mai,” and “Ise no Hana no Mai.”

The simple yet profound world of kagura in Tomiyama, Toyone Village, woven from masks and dance

What to expect

The festival consisted of “yudate kagura” and “theatrical performances.”

During the yudate ritual, hot water is offered to the deities. The theatrical performances include the shishimai “Donzuku,” dances by demons and brother demons, “Hanauri,” and “Shirami Fukui / Jorō Mask.”

The movements of the brother demons are said to represent the process of felling trees and preparing timber. Their powerful leaps and turns, stamping loudly on the floor, are also distinctive.

Location and access

Venue and address

Kumano Jinja, 4 Ōtani, Tomiyama, Toyone Village

Train and bus

Get off at Ōzore Station on the JR Iida Line

Address 4 Ōtani, Tomiyama, Toyone Village, Kitashitara District, Aichi Prefecture

Dates and season

Suspended in 2026.

Accommodation and hotels PR

Origins and History of O-kagura Festival

Kumano Jinja in the Ōtani area is said to have originated when a family of the Kumano bettō opened the settlement in Shōhei 1 (1342) and enshrined the Kumano Sanzan deities.

The festival consisted of yudate kagura and theatrical performances. It is explained that, after the ban on Shugendō and the haibutsu kishaku movement in the early Meiji period, it took its present form, with Buddhist elements reduced from its original syncretic character.

Researchers are said to have called it the “O-kagura Festival” in the 10s of the Showa era, and the name is believed to have spread from then on.

Official information

Toyone Village Board of Education, telephone: 0536-85-1611

O-kagura Festival at a Glance

O-kagura Festival is a folk performing art passed down at Kumano Jinja in the Tomiyama area of Toyone Village. It is known for masked dances and humorous performances.

Well-known pieces include “Hanauri,” “Shirami Fukui,” and “Kyōdai Oni.” The festival consisted of yudate kagura and theatrical performances.

It is listed as suspended in 2026.