Hei Yorimoto, who had made his home at Nejo Castle, had a vassal called Hanawa Jiro who was a performing arts enthusiast. This Hanawa is said to have learned this dance while traveling around in Echigo. In 1631, he accompanied Nanbu Shigenobu – the twenty-ninth head of the Nanbu clan, affectionately known as “Hanawa Tonosama” (Lord Hanawa) – when the latter was summoned to Morioka from Hanawa. He performed the dance at Morioka Castle, and was granted the use of the Nanbu clan’s kuyo (nine-star) and mukaizuru (facing cranes) crests.
Every year, the dance is dedicated to the gods at Hanamori Shrine’s annual festival in April, and is performed on August 15 during the Bon Festival at the Hanawa Tradition Museum, to pray for the souls of ancestors.