The Calendar of 
MapJapan Heritage Shinonsen Town's Kirin Dance-Hyogo Prefecture-
Shinonsen Town, which was formed in 2005 by the merger of Hamasaka Town and Onsen Town.
Moroyose is a community of 300 families within Shinonsen Town.There, the Iyonaga Shrine holds its summer festival every July 14th and 15th, which is when the Kirin Dance takes place.
Mr. Mitsugu Tanaka, the head of the preservation association, has said this about generations coming together to keep the tradition going: "Here, everyone from the elderly to the children loves the Kirin Dance. It's just not a festival without it."
The Kirin Dance of Tajima
The Moroyose Kirin Dance Preservation Association
Two Kirin begin the performance together at the front of the shrine, then divide into two parades of fifty people each that go around to the homes in town. On the first day, they go to the auction market at the nearby fishing harbor, then store the portable shrines for the night, and continue going around to homes the next day. Accompanied by people playing instruments, they spend about five minutes performing at each home.
What sets them apart from other towns, however, is that they don't just stop outside the homes, they go inside them and dance as well!
Masami Miyamoto, vice president of the association, has explained this unique tradition, saying: "The Kirin Dance is good luck, and it banishes away bad spirits. People ask us to please come into their homes and perform it, especially in newly-built houses. If the dance makes a bit of a mess inside, it's good to leave it that way for a while and not clean it up right away."
The children in town adore the Kirin Dance. In the past, only middle schoolers and older were allowed to participate, but with the declining birthrate, now fourth-graders and up can join. By the time they graduate from elementary school, they learn how to cheer, play taiko drums, flutes, and help out the adults immensely. In this way, the Kirin Dance is the axle that keeps the wheel of the community turning together.
