The Calendar of 
MapThe Calendar of the Yearly Festivals
093 093 Wakasa Shrine
Wakasa Town Wakasa
Picture of the Kirin’s Head
Picture of the Shoujou’s Mask
| Date of the Festival | May 2 and 3 |
|---|---|
| Time for the Kirin Dance at the Shrine | Eve of the festival: No dance at the shrine Festival day: 9 a.m. |
| Origin | Early Edo period (1659) |
| Characteristics | The dance is originally from Ube Shrine. |
| Area | Wakasa Town Wakasa |
Introduction to the Shrine
Wakasa Shrine
The year of the shrine's founding is unknown, but according to a legend it has been called “Matsugami Daimyōjin” since ancient times.
■Deity of the Shrine
Kuninotokotachi-no-Mikoto, Izanami-no-Mikoto, Homutawake-no-Mikoto, Amaterasu- Ōmikami, Toyouke-bime, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Ukemochi-no-Kami, Ukanomitama-no-Mikoto, Ōnamuchi-no-Mikoto, Mizuhanome-no-Kami, Ōyamazumi-no-Kami, Kagutsuchi-no-Kami, Ame-no-mikudari-musubi-no-Kami, Sugawara-no-michizanekō
■cultural property
[Kirin Dance]
Designated as a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2020.
[Woods around the Shrine]
Designated as a Tottori Prefecture Natural Monument in 1982.
Access to the Shrine
Wakasa 634, Wakasa Town, Yazu County, Tottori Prefecture(MAP)
A fifteen-minute walk from Wakasa Station on the Wakasa Railway Line.
Related Information
Sites Associated with the Kirin Dances
Monuments around the Tottori Station
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Wooden Benches
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Sand Sculpture of Kirin
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Stone Sculpture of Kirin
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Tottori Toshogu in the Ouchidani Park
Tottori Toshogu was established by Mitsunaka Ikeda, a local lord, in the 17th century, and is a branch shrine of Nikko Toshogu. The shrine inherits the initial Kirin, which is now stored in the Tottori Prefectural Museum. During Gongen Matsuri, a festival in October, members of the Inaba Kirin Dance Club dance before the shrine’s deity, and a procession of a mikoshi (portable shrine) walks through to animate the festival.
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The Imeitei Pioneer Memorial Gallery of Hamasaka
Imeitei is a gallery remodeled by Shichikamaya Yashiki (Shichikamaya Mansion) of the Mori family, who until lately ran a sake-brewery. It is a historical and folk gallery where visitors can trace the footsteps of the pioneers living around the Shin-onsen Town. The head of the Kirin from the Utsuno Shrine is displayed in the gallery. It is designated as the town’s cultural heritage.
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Sora no Eki Park (Sky Station Park) at the Amarube Bridge
The origin of the Kirin from the Junisha Shrine, a shrine in adjacent to the Yoroi district, is the Kirin dance performed in the Iwami Town. This dance was a part of the inauguration of the Amarube Bridge at the end of the Meiji period. Visitors can see children’s drawings of the Kirin displayed in Sora no Eki at the Amarube Bridge and the park at the foot of the Amarube Crystal Tower. The roadside stations in vicinity are also worth sightseeing.
