Gujo Odori

The Gujo Hachiman Tourism Association says the dance has been sung and danced in this castle town for about 400 years. Its account is that a lord of the castle gathered the bon dances of the surrounding villages into the town, to bring the classes together, and encouraged people to dance without regard to rank over the four days of Obon. The season is long. In 2026 there were 30 dance nights between 11 July and 5 September, and most of them belonged to a local festival: a water god, a shrine or a temple in one neighbourhood, so the dance moved round the town from night to night. To shamisen, drum and flute, visitors and locals dance together in one ring. There are ten dances, among them Kawasaki, Harukoma, Sanbyaku, Yatchiku, Gengenbarabara, Neko no Ko, Sawagi, Kocho Kawasaki and Matsusaka. Men and women dance the same steps. From 13 to 16 August, Obon, the Tetsuya Odori goes on all night. In 2026 it started at 20:00 each night and ended at 4:00 on the first and last nights and at 5:00 on the two in between. The last night of the season is the Odori-osame, which in 2026 closed with the Yakata-okuri lantern procession at 23:00. Anyone can join, and no costume is needed, though the association suggests a yukata, which some kimono shops rent. It also suggests geta, whose clatter on the street is part of the rhythm; shops in town will fit a pair to your feet on the spot. Each night, around 22:00, judges from the preservation society watch the dancers on the song of the day, which is posted on the yakata, the stand at the venue, and those they pick are given a wooden tag on the spot that can be exchanged for a licence certificate at the preservation society's desk. It used to be possible to pay for one; now the certificate is given only through the judging. The association says the dance was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2022.