A circular and line dance passed down in Yoshihama, traced by fans and paper streamers
Yoshihama Kashima Odori
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Area
- Kanagawa Prefecture・Yugawara Town(From Tokyo: approx. 30 min–1 h · 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
- Wishes behind the festival
- Last updated
- 2026/10/19
Yoshihama Kashima Odori is a folk performing art passed down through the festival at Soga Shrine in Yoshihama, Yugawara Town. Dancers dressed in hakucho robes dance with fans and bundles of paper streamers to the accompaniment of drums, bells, and singing. The distinctive shifts between circular and line formations express the region’s prayers and traditions.
About Yoshihama Kashima Odori
Yoshihama Kashima Odori is a folk performing art performed during the festival at Soga Shrine in Yoshihama, Yugawara Town.
Dancers dressed in hakucho robes dance with fans and bundles of paper streamers to the accompaniment of drums, bells, and singing.
Other festival roles include performers carrying a golden ladle, symbols of the sun and moon, and tatara rods, as well as guards; the roles supporting the festival are carefully differentiated.
As a performing art based on the sending off of plague deities, it carries the region’s prayers into the present.
Source: 国指定文化財等データベース
Festival highlights
The highlight is the changing formations created by the dancers.
To the accompaniment of drums, bells, and singing, they dance while changing from a circle to a line and then back to a circle, moving fans and bundles of paper streamers.
Dancers wear hakucho robes and eboshi hats, and roles include performers carrying drums, bells, a golden ladle, and symbols of the sun and moon.
The art is also notable for preserving many features of its older form.
Source: 文化遺産データベース
A circular and line dance passed down in Yoshihama, traced by fans and paper streamers
What to expect
During the festival, dancers with designated roles perform to the sounds of drums, bells, and singing.
The dance combines circular dances and line formations, progressing as the dancers change formations.
Dancers dressed in hakucho robes move fans and bundles of paper streamers, alongside performers playing roles such as drums, bells, a golden ladle, and symbols of the sun and moon.
When watching, visitors are expected to quietly observe the performers and their changing formations.
Source: 神奈川県民俗芸能記録保存調査 - 神奈川県ホームページ
Location and access
- Venue and address
The dance is performed at Soga Shrine (Yoshihama, Yugawara Town).
Source: 無形民俗文化財 - 四季彩のまち湯河原公式ホームページ
Event venue 神奈川県湯河原町 素鵞神社で踊られます
This map uses the venue name. Check the official guide for the event area and entrances.
Tips for your visit
When watching, please respect the progress of the festival and choose a spot where you will not obstruct the dancers' formations or the movements of their fans and sacred paper bundles.
If you visit on the festival day, please follow local guidance and the instructions of staff.
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 Kanagawa Prefecture / Yugawara Town (the search is not centered on the festival venue)
Nearby attractions
Yoshihama Beach is an attraction in the Yoshihama area.
The beach has shallow waters, and its address is Yoshihama, Yugawara Town, Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa Prefecture.
The distance and walking time from the festival venue, Soga Shrine, are not provided, so check the locations on site when getting around the area.
Check the beach’s operating period and usage conditions for the time of your visit.
Source: 吉浜海水浴場 | 観光スポット | 湯河原温泉 公式観光サイト
Origins and History of Yoshihama Kashima Odori
Kashima Odori is a performing art passed down across the Seisho region of Kanagawa Prefecture and the Higashi-Izu area of Shizuoka Prefecture.
According to a Kanagawa Prefecture survey, Yoshihama Kashima Odori has been passed down since the early Edo period and is described as a ritual for driving away epidemics and ensuring abundant catches and harvests.
Traditions remain in Yoshihama and Kajiya in Yugawara Town. The Yoshihama dance was designated by Kanagawa Prefecture in Showa 29 and nationally selected in Showa 46.
Official information
The “Intangible Folk Cultural Properties” page on the official Yugawara Town website provides information on the location, designation status, dance structure, and background of the tradition of Yoshihama Kashima Odori.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Database of Nationally Designated Cultural Properties lists Yoshihama Kashima Odori as an intangible folk cultural property for which measures such as documentation should be undertaken.
The Kanagawa Prefecture folk performing arts documentation and preservation survey also introduces the origins and performance style of Yoshihama Kashima Odori.
Yoshihama Kashima Odori at a Glance
Yoshihama Kashima Odori is a folk performing art in Yugawara Town, passed down through the festival at Soga Shrine.
Dancers dressed in hakucho robes dance to drums, bells, and singing, moving fans and bundles of paper streamers as they shift between circular and line formations.
It is considered a performing art passed down since the early Edo period and is recorded as a prefectural-designated and nationally selected cultural property.
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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