Daimokutate Performance 2026｜10/12(Mon) Access & Fees

Dates & time: October 12, 2026 (Mon) Evening (performed at the eve-of-festival rite)
cost: No admission fee listed (a shrine offering held in the precincts)
location: Yahashira Shrine, Kamifukawa-cho, Nara City

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Why You Should Visit

A narrative performing art offered on the night of October 12 each year at Yahashira Shrine in Kamifukawa, a mountain village in the Tsuge district of eastern Nara City. Young men of the village, mainly aged 17, stand in a row in suo robes and tall eboshi hats and take turns reciting tales of Genpei-era warriors in a distinctive chanting style. With little movement and very simple staging, it is thought to preserve an early form of storytelling turning into theatre. It also serves as a coming-of-age rite. Designated a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1976 and inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2009.

NOTE

Repertoire

Three texts survive in Kamifukawa: Itsukushima, Daibutsu Kuyo and Ishibashiyama
Usually either Itsukushima (8 performers) or Daibutsu Kuyo (9 performers) is staged

Highlights

Young men in suo robes and eboshi hats recite their lines in turn while standing in fixed positions
A coming-of-age rite handed down through the village's miyaza shrine guild

How the evening unfolds

The performers use Genyaku-ji, next to the shrine on the west side, as their dressing room, and walk to the stage in front of the sanrōjo hall below the main sanctuary behind an elder, singing the "Michibiki"
They wear suo robes and a tall tate-eboshi hat, with a fan tucked in at the collar and a bow in hand
A caller announces each turn and role ("Number one, Kiyomori"), and each performer names himself with a set phrase before reciting his lines
In "Itsukushima", Kiyomori receives a halberd from the goddess Benzaiten. Near the end comes the "Fusho-mai": one performer holds up a fan in the centre of the stage and circles it once, stamping his feet
All recite the closing "Iriku" together and leave singing the "Michibiki" behind the elder
For three years after the shrine buildings are rebuilt or repaired, "Itsukushima" is the piece performed

History

Daimokutate is mentioned in the Tamon-in Diary, kept by a Kōfuku-ji monk, around 1576
Kamifukawa keeps a 1733 copy of a libretto dated 1624

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FAQ

When is it held each year?

Every year on the night of October 12, during the eve rite of Yahashira Shrine's autumn festival. In 2026 that falls on Monday, October 12 (a national holiday).

Who performs it?

Young men of Kamifukawa, mainly aged 17. By custom they join the shrine guild (miyaza) at 17, so performing also serves as a coming-of-age rite.

Who can I contact for details?

Nara City Board of Education, Cultural Properties Division (0742-34-5369).