On business in Nagasaki, Sakuraya Kanshichi, a wealthy merchant under the domain of Yashiro during the Edo period, was enchanted by the rakan-style lion dance he saw at the Suwa Shrine Festival (aka Nagasaki Kunchi Festival), which for years he longed to dedicate to the Myomi Festival. During the autumn when he was 21, he visited Nagasaki to study drumming and "chanmera", or Chinese trumpet, and devised costumes and dance styles, which he first dedicated to the Myoken Festival in 1691 (Genroku 4). During the period of the Myoken Festival, the lion dance is performed for the Shime-oroshi event at Yatsushiro Shrine on November 1st. On the 23rd, the lion dance leads the Shinko-gyoretsu, or procession of the shrine gods, and is performed in the precincts and in front of Yatsushiro Shrine, Tosaki-no-kawara, Myoken-chugu, and other places. Three dance types are presented depending on location: the hon-niwa, hira-niwa, and hira-naga-niwa. This lion dance is also performed in the precincts of Asai Shrine and Shohinken Garden for the Asai Shrine Grand Festival on November 15, and for Shioya Hachiman-gu Shrine Grand Festival on November 23.