Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties of Gifu

Performed every September at Kanomizu Hakusan Shrine in the mountains of Gujo City, Gifu, Kanomizu no Kake Odori is a 300-year-old furyu drum dance offered by a village of just a few hundred people. Around 100 residents take on 31 distinct roles around four rhythm beaters carrying 3.6-meter floral ornaments called shinai. Designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2021 and inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2022, it is one of Japan's most vivid surviving folk performances.

Held annually from February 7 to 14 at Morimi-nashi Hachiman Shrine in Gero City, Gifu Prefecture, this Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan is believed to have been practiced for roughly 500 years. Popularly known as the Hanagasa Matsuri (Flower-Hat Festival) for the vivid hand-made hats worn by its young dancers, the rite preserves a remarkably intact form of medieval ta-asobi agricultural performance. Its climactic kasa-ubai scramble, in which flower hats and dumplings are tossed into the crowd, is said to bring a year of good fortune to all who catch one.

Discover Nagataki no Ennen, a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property performed each January 6 at Nagataki Hakusan Shrine in Gujo, Gifu. This rare medieval temple dance culminates in the dramatic Hana-ubai (flower-snatching) ritual—where serene tradition meets exhilarating energy. A complete guide to access, schedule, and visitor tips.

Each year on April 13, deep in the mountains of Motosu City, Gifu Prefecture, Nōgō Hakusan Shrine hosts a remarkable Shinto ritual performing art that has been transmitted orally for centuries by sixteen local households. Designated as a Nationally Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1976, Nōgō no Nō and Kyōgen preserves an archaic form of Noh that predates the five professional schools of today—with masks and costumes from the Muromachi period, a chorus that carries the entire chanted text, and dancers who stamp the wooden stage rather than glide across it. Witness this once-a-year window onto Japan's earliest stages of nōgaku.

Discover Makuwa Ningyo Joruri, a 300-year-old puppet theater tradition in Motosu City, Gifu Prefecture, designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Born from gratitude to Fukuda Genshichiro, who resolved irrigation disputes in the Genroku era, this art is performed each spring at Mononobe Shrine on a dedicated wooden stage built in 1872, preserving rare puppet heads and plays no longer seen elsewhere in Japan.

Gifu’s registered properties across designations, with featured heritage and travel notes.

The complete kokuhō catalogue — browse by prefecture, period, and category.

Nationwide jūyō bunkazai — architecture, sculpture, painting, crafts, and documents.