The Calendar of 
MapThe Calendar of the Yearly Festivals
053 053 053 Sawa Shrine
Yazu Town Saitai
Picture of the Kirin’s Head
Picture of the Shoujou’s Mask
| Date of the Festival | Spring: Second Sunday of April Autumn: Second Sunday of October |
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| Time for the Kirin Dance at the Shrine | 11 a.m. |
| Origin | Around the mid-Edo period |
| Characteristics | The Kirin's cloak is covered in small ropes of zigzagged white paper. The dance was designated as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Tottori Prefecture in 1998. |
| Area | Yazu Town Saitai |
Introduction to the Shrine
Sawa Shrine
The year of the shrine's founding is unknown. From ancient times, the residing god has been known as "Sawa Daimyōjin", and is the local deity of Saitai Village.
■Deity of the Shrine
Mizuhanome-no-Mikoto
■cultural property
The Kirin dance was designated as a Tottori Prefecture Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1998, and in 2020 as a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.
Access to the Shrine
Saitai 259, Yazu Town, Yazu County, Tottori Prefecture(MAP)
A five-minute walk from Hattō Station on the Wakasa Railway Line. Close to "Takeichi" bus stop on the Wakasa Bus 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.
