The Mountains’ Eleventh-Month Dances

Why do demons descend from the mountains to bless a village? In this searching essay, Orikuchi Shinobu follows the winter Flower Festival of the mountain borderlands between Mikawa, Shinano, and Tōtōmi. Memories of cold night journeys and graceful young dancers lead into an inquiry into sacred masks, vigorous stamping, flower divination, and rites of renewal.

Drawing on Hayakawa Kōtarō’s field research, Orikuchi traces possible connections among wandering religious specialists, kagura, dengaku, and temple dances. Staffs left at village entrances, white enclosures associated with rebirth, and performers who interpret or parody one another become clues to a ritual world whose surviving forms conceal many layers of change. His questions remain open, and his imaginative hypotheses retain their exploratory character.

First published in 1930, this complete English translation preserves the essay’s personal voice, detailed comparisons, and tentative conclusions. Thirty-two notes explain traditional calendar terms, local practices, historical references, uncertain readings, and speculative etymologies. A compact work of Japanese folklore and performance scholarship, it invites readers to look beyond the spectacle toward the meanings carried by dance, space, and communal blessing.