Areas

• Hachinohe City

• Hirono Town

Artists

• Nakano Fuji no Kai

  Bon odori dances from the area once called Nukanobu, spread from the southern Aomori to northern Iwate region, are called “Nanya doyara” and have long been enjoyed as one of the few forms of entertainment among the people. It is said that there are hundreds of varieties of bon odori, with each region and village having their own unique characteristics and variations.
  In today’s world of diversifying entertainment, opportunities to enjoy the Nanya doyara with the participation of the people are decreasing, and the number of skilled performers are aging. Nakano Fuji no Kai, a preservation society founded by local volunteers in 2014, is working to enhance the appeal of its hometown by promoting the Nanya doyara, which is unique to the Nakano area of Hirono Town, to the next generation, and by expanding its activities into a wide range of PR and exchange fields.

• Ono Naru Ikazuchi Taiko

  Ono Naru Ikazuchi Taiko was formed in 2000 by a group of young men and women who took a taiko drumming course. Today, the group has 28 members ranging in age from 5 to 46 years old.
  The name, “Ono Naru Ikazuchi Daiko”, comes from Naru Ikazuchi Shrine, the town deity of Ono, in Hirono Town (formerly Ono Village). It is hoped that the taiko drumming will develop to become something that represents the former Ono Village, and be loved by the villagers as a prayer for a good harvest and family safety.
  Trained in musical composition and performance by Warabi-za, a renowned troupe based in Akita Prefecture, the group is named after the image of lightning, and their drum music is valiant and charged with youthful passion and freshness.

• Kadono Hama Koma Odori Preservation Society

  During the Warring States period, the Nanbu Hachinohe Clan ruled the area from southern Aomori to northern Iwate. The Koma Odori dance is said to be a dance that depicts the scene of going into battle, and cavalry battles at that time. It is also said that the dance was performed to comfort the spirits of horses and ancestors who died in battle, as well as to ensure the safety of the horses, which always supported the people as war and farm horses.
  　Since 1978, the dance has also been performed by children at local elementary and junior high school athletic meets and cultural festivals to pass on the geinoh and to promote their physical fitness and growth.
  　There are 14 types of dances: 7 dances performed with horse-like costumes, and 7 stick dances performed with poles, swords, and long swords.

• Iwate Prefecture Iwaizumi High School’s Geinoh Club

  Since its establishment in 1990, the club has performed at nine national competitions, three times at the National Theatre of Japan, and once in Paris. Many of the members not only belong to the club, but they are also a group of volunteers who aspire to pass on the Nakano Nanazumai dance. Although it is difficult to balance their activities during the peak season, they feel the need in spreading the local folk dance to as many people as possible, and to pass it on to younger generations.
  It is said that the Nakano Nanazumai was created around the time of the “Seven Years of Famine” in the Tempo era based on the “Shittogi-jishi-mai” of the Kuromori Kagura from Miyako City. With the dancers divided into seven roles, and seven different dances comprise the whole, it is said that this is where Nanazumai (literally, seven dances) got its name. The dancers play the role of farmers who cultivate the fields, plant crops, protect them from vermin, and share the harvest, all in the hope of a bountiful gathering.

• Iwate Prefecture Kitakami Shonan High School’s Onikenbai Club

  Onikenbai is a geinoh handed down by farmers in the Kitakami region of Iwate Prefecture, and is said to have begun approximately 1,300 years ago.
  Under the guidance of Iwasaki Onikenbai, a Nationally-Designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, the club of 50 members participated in the National High School Culture Festival held in Tokyo in August 2021, representing Iwate Prefecture.
  They perform a brave and dynamic sword dance called “Katana Kenbai no Kurui”, a four-sided formation dance called “Hitori Kago”, and “Sanban-niwa no Kurui” which is rich in variety in both dance and music, among others.

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