【National Designation：Selected Intangible Folk】Masutorya of Nobaru

This is a harvest festival held in Nobaru of the Ueno district on August 15 on the lunar calendar. During the morning hours, the women offer prayers at the place of worship and at dusk, the men have a feast of sake and food at the four Masumutu (where taxes were collected in the past ages). On the grounds of the community center, four groups of young men present their bojutsu performance and the women perform dances. The women line up in rows for the dance performance, with those in the front holding palm fans and the women in the back row clap the Yotsudake bamboos in their hands, in the Dagi Odori and Nagi Odori formation. The last dance performances are the Maki Odori and the Kuicha. The lyrics in the song for the beginning of Masutorya tell of how this is not a regular dance, but a dance permitted by the Jitonushi (an official) and through this song and dance, we can understand the hardships of the people during the period of heavy taxation.
This is a unique folk performance art among the performing arts of the Miyako Islands.