More glimpses of unfamiliar Japan

  Day 9 of my walk along the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage, and I am walking through some remote mountain country I had no been to before. It'...

  A few weeks ago I posted on a small altar to Omoto in a neighbouring village and asked if anyone would be interested in seeing the shamani...

Oki Islands Kagura I'm a big fan of kagura, the traditional performing art of japan that is the least well-known. In my area, Iwami in ...

Uzume Mask It has been a very long time since I finished any masks , but the last few weeks I have been hard at it. Most of my older blo...

Sada Shrine, located north of Matsue, was once the most important shrine in the Izumo region. Enshrined in the central honden are 5 kami...

Went to a charity kagura event today and saw a dance I had never seen before, Momiji-gari. The dance opens with three maidens dressed in gor...

    Today was the matsuri at Tsunozu. Last night was the all night kagura, but I was feeling a bit under the weather so didn't make it, ...

It is believed that the root of Japanese religion, AND the root of Japanese performing arts lie in shamanic trance. Shamanic kagura was once...