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Esashi Shishi Odori “Hyakushika Daigunbu” – Hundred-Deer Grand Dance
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Location information
- Name
- Esashi Shishi Odori “Hyakushika Daigunbu” – Hundred-Deer Grand Dance
- Address
- Ōdōri, Esashi, Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
- Description
- The Hyakushika Daigunbu (“Hundred-Deer Grand Dance”) is a large-scale performance where multiple styles of Taiko-style Shishi Odori (Deer Dance) from Esashi, Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, come together on one stage.
Traditionally, it has been performed during the Bon season to honor ancestors and exorcise evil spirits, and in autumn to pray for a bountiful harvest.
Dancers wear antlered deer heads (Kashira) adorned with horsehair (Zai), floral ornaments (Keman), streamers (Nagashi), and black drapes featuring the Date clan’s Kuyou crest, along with bamboo poles wrapped with paper (Sasara). Beating the drums fastened to their waists while singing, they create a powerful and mesmerizing spectacle.
While Shishi Odori is usually performed by eight dancers, this event brings together about 100 performers from various styles, including Gyojo Style, Kanatsu Style, Okuyama Gyojo Style, and Okuyama Gyojo-ue Style, performing the same routine in perfect unison.
First held in 1985 to commemorate the opening of Mizusawa-Esashi Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen, the Hyakushika Daigunbu is now staged annually on the main streets of Esashi during the Esashi Jinku Festival (May 3–4) and the Michinoku Obon Festival (August 16). The synchronized drumbeats and mass dance combine an overwhelming sense of scale with deep cultural richness.
Contact info for inquiries
- Address
-
1-8 Esashi Odori, Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
Esashi General Branch, Oshu City
- Website
- http://www.oshu-fc.jp/
- Contact Information
-
TEL：+81-197-34-2343
FAX：+81-197-35-3476
- Contact
- Inquiries on the WEB
Area Map
※ The above map is showing the name of the location and the place name to origin. It's sometimes different from an actual place, so please accept it beforehand.
Other locations in the vicinity
- Esashi Jinku Festival
- Konjikidō (Golden Hall), Esashi-Fujiwara Heritage Park
- Tsunekiyo Residence, Esashi-Fujiwara Heritage Park
- Artisan Workshop District, Esashi-Fujiwara Heritage Park
- Elevated Granaries within the Jōsaku Palisade, Esashi-Fujiwara Heritage Park
- Jōsaku Palisade Area, Esashi-Fujiwara Heritage Park
- Kiyohira Residence, Esashi-Fujiwara Heritage Park
- Ōji Street, Esashi-Fujiwara Heritage Park
