🏮 Shiroishi Odori

白石踊

Kasaoka, Okayama (Shiraishi Island (All of Shiraishi Island)) · Every year on 13 August

UNESCO Intangible Cultural HeritageImportant Intangible Folk Cultural PropertySummer festivalBon odoriTraditional performing arts

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Shiraishi Odori, a Bon dance passed down on Shiraishi Island in Kasaoka City, Okayama Prefecture, is performed at night from August 13 to 16 of the solar calendar. It is designated a nationally important intangible folk cultural property, and in 2022 it was registered as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage as part of Furyu Odori. Along with Omiya Odori and Bicchu Matsuyama Odori, it is counted among the three major dances of Okayama Prefecture. The dance is said to have originated to console the spirits of those killed in the Genpei Mizushima naval battle in the Seto Inland Sea. Since its national designation on May 4, 1976, preservation efforts have continued, centered on the Shiraishi Odori Association. A distinguishing feature is that 13 types of dance, including the men's dance, women's dance, girls' dance (Tsukimi Odori), kasa dance, yakko dance, and fan dance, are performed to a single kudoki (lead song). The lead songs include "Nasu no Yoichi," and a variety of dances have been handed down.