Tora Odori (tiger dance) in Inokuchi-machi

Category Name:Lion Dance / Tiger Dance / Bull Dance (Tiger Dance)

Inokuchi's tiger dance is said to have been stolen from Kyoto and handed down from generation to generation. In the songs, the names of places in and around Kyoto such as "Yamashina," "Hirosawa-ike" and "Sarusawa-ike" appear. It seems that the dance was already performed in 1812 (Bunka 9), in the latter half of the Edo period, since the currently preserved tiger mask (head) bears the inscription "September, Bunka 9 (1812), by Keiun of Inokuchi-dera Temple. This Inokuchi-dera Temple was closed and no longer exists, but the wooden seated statue of Yakushi Nyorai (designated as an important cultural property by Kumamoto Prefecture), which was the principal object of worship at Inokuchi-dera, is enshrined in the Yakushi-dou on the west side of Inokuchi Hachiman-gu Shrine. Although the inscription simply states that it was made in Bunka 9 by "Keiun," a monk associated with Inokuchi-dera Temple, it is believed that there was a deep connection between this tiger dance and the temple.

Municipality

Hitoyoshi City

Category

Lion Dance / Tiger Dance / Bull Dance (Tiger Dance)

Specific Location

Inokuchi-machi

Cultural Property Designation

Hitoyoshi City Intangible Folk Cultural Property March 31, 1987

Performance Date(s)

Performance Location

Preservation Society