【National Designation】Harvest Festival of Tarama Island

The origin of “August Dance” of Tarama Island remains unknown. However, it presumably has something to do with the poll tax system as it was originally called “August Prayers” or “Cerebration of Full Payment.” During the former fief period, people suffered from the poll tax, and they held rituals called August Prayers by visiting Utaki sacred sites throughout the region on auspicious days they chose from the following month of July on lunar calendar which was the month of tax payment.
There, they cerebrated the full payment and wished for a year of abundance. After the rituals, people of Nakasuji Village and Shiokawa Village would invite each other to Tsuchihara Ugan Prayer Site or Hitotama Ugan Prayer Site and hold festivals, and on the third day, they would hold similar festivals at their own villages to enjoy themselves throughout the day.

Performance at the festival is arranged comprehensively by mixing folk art, traditional dance, the Kyogen play, the Kumiodori dance, etc.. Young people who normally work at different places including a farm learn each of the performance very hard from each master. In recent years, school children and students join the performance because of the declining population.