A program "Katazoroe" of Binzasara-mai Dance in Asakusa-jinja Shrine

Binzasara is a musical instrument which consists of 108 wooden strips connected to each other at the side ends in the bendable state inward (a strip:15 cm in length and 6 mm in thickness).To make sound, people grasp both ends of the instrument and wave it to rub these wooden strips. The dance with this instrument is dedicated on the first day of Sanja Matsuri Festival.

On the opening day (Friday) afternoon, the performers of Binzasara-mai Dance line up at the middle of the big parade, who are a couple of dancers with large red and blue Shishi-gashira (lion mask), a drummer with a big drum wearing a red long wig to his knee, three players of Binzasara covering their face with Ayai hat,two drummers with small drums, two players of Japanese flute and so on. When the big parade arrive at the shrine, only that performers are allowed entering the building of shrine. At the worship hall, they dedicate three kinds of Shishi-mai Dance and four kinds of Sasaramai Dance and pray for a bumper harvest. In the chronicle "Sensoji Engi" which has the illustrations of Binzasara-mai Dance when Sanja Jinja Matsuri Festival started in the end of the Kamakura period. This performance is a precious Intangible Folk Cultural Property, which passes on the traditional performing art since the medieval period to us.