Yumoto Nanjo Odori” dedicated to the future

A new page in the 420-year history of the company

Yumoto Nanjo Odori (Yumoto Nanjo Dance) has been dedicated for 420 years as part of the "Akasaki Festival" held around Akasaki Shrine in Higashi-Fukagawa, Nagato City.

This dance has multiple origins, and is said to have come to be called "Nanjo Odori," from anecdotes such as "a warrior of the Yoshikawa clan learned and passed on a Bon Odori dance from the Nanjo area (Hiroshima Prefecture)" and "during a battle between the Yoshikawa and Nanjo armies, the Yoshikawa army disguised its samurai as dancers and entered and captured the castle of the Nanjo army.

It was introduced to Yumoto from the Yoshikawa Clan (Iwakuni Clan) in 1674. It is dedicated every year at the "Akasaki Festival" as a dance that heralds the autumn season, and was designated as an intangible folk cultural asset by Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1968.

The festival used to be held on September 10 every year, but this year the date was changed to the "second Sunday in September". This year, the festival will be held on Sunday, September 9.

Dedication at Daneiji Temple

About 40 dancers and community members gathered in front of Daneiji Temple in Fukagawa-Yumoto just before 1:00 pm. Preparations for the dedication were steadily underway.

A wheel approximately 3 meters in diameter is attached to a crisscrossing wooden frame, and a brightly colored "fukinuki" is fastened around the waist with an obi. This is an important role that symbolizes the Yumoto Nanjo Odori dance.

The group lined up in a row and headed toward Daneiji Temple, shouting "oohs" to the sound of light drums and gongs. The two elementary school students who rang the gong played the sound admirably while following the backs of the adult dancers.

Cross the "Banseki-bashi", a stone bridge over the river, to the front of the main hall.

The first dedication was held on this day, watched over by the community.

Dancers dance valiantly and with dignity to the songs. The sound of a conch shell signals the beginning and end of the dance.

Decorate the rakusanjiki

After the dedication at Daneiji Temple, the group went to the site of the Akasaki Festival in Higashi-Fukagawa.

At the Akasaki Shrine Raku-janjiki, a mortar-shaped open-air theater that is also a nationally designated Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property, not only Yumoto Nanjo Odori but also Raku Odori, a dance performance with gorgeous costumes and leaping dance moves, is dedicated.

And again, he entered with a resounding voice.

Every year, the dedication at the Rakujanshiki is known for attracting photographers. This year, too, many people captured the contrast between the vivid costumes and tools with their cameras.

The dancers were dripping with sweat as they danced in the hot and humid weather.

The second dedication of the day ended with much applause.

To Iiyama Hachimangu Shrine

After leaving the Rakujanshiki, the group walked through the street lined with stalls and headed directly to "Iiyama Hachimangu Shrine".

Still a commanding voice that shows no sign of fatigue.

The sound of drums and gongs echoed through the quiet precincts of the temple.

Finally, go to Sumiyoshi Shrine

Returning to Yumoto again, the group went to Sumiyoshi Shrine, the last dedication site for the day.

The sound of the bell of Sumiyoshi Shrine greets the dancers as they ascend the stairs, one step at a time.

This traditional dance never loses its power and suppleness until the very end. The dancers raised their voices even higher and successfully completed the dance.

This year's "Yumoto Nanjo Odori" was created by a total of over 40 people, from elementary school students to adults. Another new page was engraved in the long, long history of the festival.

Nagato Yumoto Onsen, where tourism town development is progressing and a "social experiment" to experience the hot spring resort of the future is underway in September.

The tradition of "Yumoto Nanjo Odori," which can be called a local treasure, is carefully passed down from year to year in this way, and is connected to the future of Nagato Yumoto.

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