One of the most famous festivals in Hiroshima Prefecture is held every summer in the city of Mihara. Enormous crowds enter the streets for three nights in a row, culminating on the second Sunday night in August, to dance wildly to the driving accompaniment of drums, shamisen and flutes. Mentioned...

Given the importance of rice in Japanese culture, it’s not surprising that its planting and cultivation inspired song and ritual over the centuries. What is surprising, however, is the extent to which such rituals have disappeared in modern Japan. Fortunately, one of the best such events is preserve...

Chiyoda is located in northwestern Hiroshima prefecture, about one and a half hours from the city by car. The town, though small, is famous for its preservation of local performing arts, including kagura dance, the hanadaue rice-planting event, and hanagasa. In the hanagasa dance male dancers dre...