murmurNagano Iwato Kagura (Spring Performance)
Minamiaso Village · Nagano Aso Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Kumamoto Prefecture (Kumamoto Culture Site) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates not confirmed
- 2026
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late May
- How the date is set
- Every year on May 20
- Venue
- Nagano Aso Shrine
- City
- Minamiaso Village, Kumamoto
About
Nagano Iwato Kagura belongs to Nagano Aso Shrine in Minamiaso and is danced every year at the shrine festival on May 20, with another performance in autumn on October 27. Around the Kaei era (1848 to 1853), when the local kagura had fallen into decline, a man named Nagano Kurozaemon brought it back; some say he traveled widely to learn kagura from many regions, others that he brought it from Bungo. The repertoire runs to 33 pieces, from the dance that calls the gods down to the dance that opens the rock cave, and the full cycle once took three days and three nights. It is a chance to see dances handed down for generations at a shrine in the Aso hills. At the autumn festival, the big draw is an outdoor piece where a performer climbs a bamboo pole more than ten meters high.
Sources
- OfficialKumamoto Prefecture (Kumamoto Culture Site) kumamoto.guide
Last checked: Oct 10, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.
Other events this month
On the day, see what locals are murmuring on the murmur map
murmur is an app that shows short, anonymous posts on a map, right where they were written. On festival day, open the map around the venue and see what people nearby are saying.