Image
- Category
- Festivals & Dances
- Title
- Shishimai (Lion Dance) in Nakabayashi
- Areas
- South Area 11-1
The lion dance in Nakabayashi is thought to have been choreographed around 1890. The sword-dance section was taught by Seitaro Nishimura, who had a swordsmanship school in the area. Seitaro was born in Nakabayashi in 1869, and opened his school in Jiosen Town (current Izumigaoka 2-chome, Kanazawa City). He studied the Mizuno Ichiden-ryu style from Hanbe Machida, who was very popular among farmers, and used it as the basic style for the lion dance in Nakabayashi. Seitaro also established Tomioku Sword School in 1918. Students who learned from Seitaro did well at a wide range of kendo competitions in the prefecture. In 1919, volunteers built a stone monument to Seitaro. At the autumn festival held in October each year, the lion-dance is performed in front of the stone monument.