Shrine Theater 神社舞台

Official explanation

Kamikatsu has a number of small outdoor stages called noson butai next to Shinto shrines. Kabuki and puppet plays were performed in the autumn to give thanks to guardian deities for an abundant harvest. The stages are important for understanding the traditional customs of farmers, even though such performances, many dating back to the Edo period (1603–1867), have all but disappeared with the aging of the population.

Each settlement hamlet in Kamikatsu had a noson butai. Performances were staged by the settlement hamlet members or by troupes native to Tokushima Prefecture. The stages, though simple, were equipped with varying mechanisms such as trap doors and platforms for musicians and narrators.

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Today, portable shrines are paraded past the stages in October or November to show appreciation for a bountiful harvest.

Where

・ Ichiu: Hachiman Jinja Shrine

Stage mechanisms: Platform for a narrator

・ Kashihara: Akiba Jinja Shrine

Stage mechanisms: Platform for a narrator

・ Tanono: Shinmei Jinja Shrine

Stage mechanisms: Platform for a narrator, temporary hanamachi passage

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.