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Western KagawaLion Dance

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The lion dance originally came from China but has been performed in Japan for over a thousand years. Performers wear lion costumes and mimic the movements of a lion in a dance that banishes evil and brings in good luck and fortune. Lion dances are performed throughout Japan at festivals and for celebrations, and there are said to be some 8,000 varieties in Japan. Of these, over 1,200 distinct varieties of lion dance are performed in Kagawa Prefecture alone.

The lion dances of Kagawa are unlike those performed elsewhere. While many lion dance masks are made of wood, most of the masks in Kagawa are made of paper. The ears stand straight up, the eyes roll around, and the mouths have sharp teeth. In Kagawa, the bells used to accompany the lion dance are big, over thirty centimeters tall. The lion dance is one of the liveliest performances of autumn festivals in Kagawa Prefecture, and with over a thousand variations of the dance to enjoy, you will never get bored.

We hope you have a chance to see several, so you can compare the differences, and come to know the fascination of the lion dance.

For more information please see: https://shishimaiouendan.com