🏮 Iki Kagura

壱岐神楽

Iki, Nagasaki (Iki Shrine) · Every year on 20 October

Important Intangible Folk Cultural PropertyTraditional performing arts

36 days to go
Rooms around Iki, Nagasaki fill up while the festival is on.

At Iki Shrine in Iki City, Nagasaki Prefecture, the Iki Daidai Kagura is held every year on December 20. It is a Shinto ritual in which priests from 11 shrines representing the island gather together and present offerings of hayashi music and kagura dances. From autumn through winter, kagura is presented one after another at shrines across Iki Island, and this event serves as the culmination, solemnly held at the year's end. This festival has a tradition of about 700 years, and its 35 pieces have been passed down orally, without the use of musical scores. It is designated a national Important Intangible Cultural Property and is said to possess an extremely sacred nature. The highlight is the long kagura dances performed on a small stage of about two tatami mats. Lasting as long as seven to eight hours until deep into the night, the priests continue their solemn dances. It is a rare occasion for the island's priests to gather in one place, and it creates a solemn atmosphere.

Getting there

Held in Sumiyoshihigashifure, Ashibe Town, on Iki Island. There is no nearest station; about 20 to 30 minutes by bus or taxi from Iki Airport or Gonoura Port.