Takachiho Yokagura — All-Night Sacred Dance

Between mid-November and early February, 20 villages across Takachiho hold all-night kagura ceremonies in private homes and community halls. The host family clears their main room, installs a temporary shrine, and invites neighbors to witness 33 dance sequences performed from 7pm until dawn. Dancers are local farmers who inherit roles through family lines—the same families have performed specific dances for 8-12 generations. They wear hand-carved wooden masks (some over 200 years old) and costumes made by village women. The flute player sits cross-legged for seven hours straight. At 3am, someone makes fresh amazake (sweet rice drink) to keep everyone awake.