Obama Jinja Shrine is located on the former site of Obama Castle and enshrines the spirit of Sakai Tadakatsu (1587–1662), the first lord of the Obama domain. The shrine’s annual festival (reisai) is the Oshiro Festival, a grand event that announces the coming of spring. The festival is centered around lively ritual performances of odaiko drumming, bofuri (coordinated bouts between men wielding wooden poles), and a distinctive lion dance called Unpin Jishi.
The Unpin Jishi dance was supposedly brought to Obama by the many entertainers who accompanied Tadakatsu when he was transferred from his previous territory in Kawagoe, Musashi Province (modern day Saitama Prefecture). Three costumed dancers use skillful and artful movements to tell a story of affection between a young lion, an elderly lion, and a female lion. During the Edo period (1603–1867), the Unpin Jishi dance was regulated by the domain government, and it was forbidden to perform it outside of three special occasions: rituals celebrating deities worshipped by the domain lord, Hiromine Shrine festivals, and festivities held inside the castle. Now, the historic lion dance is preserved and passed down by the men of Ichibancho, the district where Obama domain samurai once kept their residences.
