About O no Mai
This ritual performance has been passed down through generations of parishioners at Iwakura Jinja Shrine in the Ohara district of Wakasa. It is believed that O no Mai spread via trade with the former capitals of Nara and Kyoto between the eleventh and the fourteenth centuries. The variant at Iwakura Shrine is one of seventeen O no Mai dances preserved at shrines across the Wakasa region. The style, length, and costumes of the O no Mai vary by location, but it is commonly performed by a single male dancer wearing a long-nosed mask and wielding a polearm.
The Spring Festival at Iwakura Jinja Shrine
On the first Sunday of April, residents of the Minami and Ohara neighborhoods of the town of Wakasa gather at Iwakura Shrine (also known as Iwakura Hikohime Shrine) to perform offerings as part of the annual spring festival. After a ceremony, young men from Ohara dressed as shishi (legendary guardian lions) dance a shishimai lion dance in front of the sanctuary. The shishi costume used at Iwakura Shrine is worn by two people who control the front and back of the lion, respectively.
Following their performance, a grade school-aged boy from the Minami neighborhood performs an O no Mai ritual dance. He wears a cream-colored costume that is decorated with cranes and karakusa, a winding plant motif. Like many other O no Mai traditions in the region, he wields a ceremonial polearm and dons a long-nosed mask while performing the stylized movements of the dance. When the O no Mai is finished, the shishi performers dart around the shrine grounds distributing sweets to spectators.
