Hagi Kagura is said to have started around the Jokyo era (1684) in the first half of the Edo period, and it follows the style of Iwato Kagura in Miyazaki Prefecture. It is said that there used to be 33 performances, but only 24 remain on record, some of which are only songs and some of which are accompanied by kagura. The mainstream of this kagura was a dedication to the gods with wishes for abundant harvest and gratitude for survival. It was regarded so sacred that those without qualification as Shinto priests were not allowed to dance in the past. In addition, a dedication dance was performed surrounded by gohei (staff with plaited paper streamers) into which women were not allowed to enter.