Inaba Umbrella Dance

The Inaba Umbrella Dance is a folk performing art handed down mainly in the eastern part of Tottori Prefecture (the Inaba region)—a dynamic, spirited dance performed holding long-handled umbrellas. The sight of dancers skillfully whirling umbrellas gorgeously adorned with bells and colored paper combines power and elegance, and is beloved at Tottori's summer festivals and Bon dances.

The dance's origins are said to lie in dedications offered as prayers for rain from the late Edo period into the Meiji era. It is held to have begun when farmers suffering from drought danced holding umbrellas in hope of rain, making it a performing art deeply tied to agricultural ritual. In time, elements of a spirited "warrior dance" incorporating martial movements were added, developing into the powerful dance of today.

The greatest appeal of the umbrella dance lies in its dynamic and varied movements—spinning the large umbrella overhead, swinging it side to side, and lowering it nearly to the ground. The clear tones of the bells and the perfectly coordinated group dancing are magnificent, captivating onlookers. The traditional umbrella dance handed down at Ube Shrine in Kokufu-chō, Tottori City, and elsewhere is designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Tottori Prefecture. Born from farmers' prayers for rain and sublimated into a spirited performing art, this dance is a precious folk culture nurtured by the land and life of the Inaba region.