The Nishiki-cho Toramai was once called the Monzen Toramai, but with the change in the town’s name, it became the Nishiki-cho Toramai. Even now that the town’s name has changed to Hama-cho 3-chome, the name remains unchanged.

The tiger head was originally carved in the shape of a tiger based on the Gongen head, but during the Taisho era, Mr. Koichi Fujisawa, a local resident, innovated and crafted papier-mâché tiger heads, resulting in a more realistic design. The lighter weight and greater mobility of the tiger head allowed freer movement, making the dance livelier and more vigorous, according to the late Nagasuke Sawada, an elder of the Toramai troupe in the area.

The dance is performed at the Osaki Festival in October and the Watatsumi Festival in June, as well as at various other performing arts events.

Nishiki-cho Toramai is considered one of the most representative and richly contented tiger dance groups in the city. Other traditional performances such as Sashitori Mai, Kitsune Dori, Okame Manzai, Celebratory Dances, and Jinku songs had also been passed on. Nishiki-cho Toramai is a component of the Kamaishi Toramai, an intangible cultural asset of the city.