Miyakejima Shinto Ritual

What the Designation Covers

The collective heritage consists of two distinct rites, each designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on February 21, 1957 as Intangible Folk Cultural Properties in the category of folk performing arts. They are the Oshaku Jinja no Shinji, held at Oshaku Shrine in the Kamitsuki district on the island's northern coast, and the Gosai Jinja no Shinji, held at Gosai Shrine in the Izu district on the western side. Though different in tone and structure, both rituals share a common heritage rooted in the Miyakeki, a medieval chronicle recounting how the deity Mishima Daimyōjin forged the Izu Islands from volcanic fire and placed divine consorts on each.

A Priestly Lineage Spanning a Millennium

Central to both rituals is the Mibu family, whose ancestors are said to have arrived on Miyakejima in the early Heian period. For roughly a thousand years, members of this family have served as hereditary shrine priests and local administrators, quietly preserving ceremonial knowledge that might otherwise have been lost. The continuity of this lineage is one reason why the dances and chants of Miyakejima retain forms that have vanished from the mainland — they were passed down from master to disciple in an unbroken chain, on an island set apart from the currents of history that transformed religious practice elsewhere.

The Rituals of Oshaku Shrine

Oshaku Shrine in Kamitsuki is dedicated to Sakitamahime-no-mikoto, the third divine princess brought to the island according to the Miyakeki. Its grand festival on October 10 was traditionally the centerpiece of the ritual calendar. Before the year 2000, the ceremony featured four principal dances — Kannabemai (the pot dance), Kenbu (the sword dance), Sumōmai (the sumo dance), and Sasaramai (the bamboo-rasp dance) — followed by the Daikagura, or grand kagura, a lengthy ritual song-and-dance naming the islands of the Izu archipelago and their resident deities.

The Kannabemai is perhaps the most visually striking. A single shrine maiden stands alone before the altar and performs a flowing miko dance, holding in succession a sake vessel, a ewer, and a long-handled ladle, turning and returning in measured rotations to the beat of a single drum and the voice of the kagura chanter. The accompanying verses invoke the young prince, the western sea, and sacred offerings of wine — language that seems to have drifted down to us from the ceremonial refinement of the Heian court.

The Rituals of Gosai Shrine

The Gosai Shrine rituals take place in the depths of winter, centering on a three-day cycle known locally as Yōkasama, or "the Rites of the Eighth Day." On January 6, a sacred sword called Otachisama begins a progress around the island, leaving Oshaku Shrine in the north and traveling through Izu and Igaya to the Toga Shrine in Ako, where it spends the night in solemn seclusion. On January 7 the Wakanasai, or Young Herbs Festival, is observed along with a symbolic rice-planting rite — a remarkable survival, given that the volcanic island has no rice paddies of its own. The sword then moves to Ninomiya Shrine in Tsubota before arriving in Izu for the evening's central ceremony. On January 8, the rite at Gosai Shrine and the adjoining Yakushi-dō hall brings the cycle to its climax.

The ritual has its roots in one of the most vivid tales of the Miyakeki: the story of the deity Kotoshironushi, who is said to have confronted a great serpent pursuing a goddess from Lake Ashi in Hakone, defending her unarmored and unadorned. A traditional kagura echoing this myth was once performed here. Villagers recall that when the sword procession passed through the streets, people would conceal themselves behind walls or step aside into the sea-ward shadows, fearing that to look upon the sacred blade was to risk blindness.

Why This Heritage Matters

These rituals received formal recognition as Tokyo Metropolitan Intangible Folk Cultural Properties because they embody several rare qualities at once. They preserve musical and choreographic forms believed to retain echoes of Heian-period court performance, long since lost or transformed on the mainland. They document a distinctive island cosmology in which volcanic eruptions and ocean tides were understood as the acts of specific named deities, each enshrined at a specific place. And they demonstrate an astonishing continuity of priestly practice under the Mibu family, whose stewardship allowed the rites to survive through centuries of upheaval, from medieval warfare to Edo-period exile politics to the modern era.

A Living Tradition Under Restoration

The year 2000 brought a severe trial. A major eruption of Mount Oyama forced the entire island population to evacuate for nearly five years, and when residents returned in 2005, not all of the ritual traditions could be immediately resumed. Both of these designated rituals have been in a state of partial suspension ever since, with the shrine community working patiently toward their full revival. In recent years, practitioners have begun reconstructing elements of the choreography using archival film and audio recordings. In 2024, a shortened form of the Daikagura was performed again at Oshaku Shrine for the first time in decades; in 2025, part of the Kannabemai was revived. On January 8 each year, a small kagura is now offered at Gosai Shrine toward the gradual restoration of Yōkasama.

For visitors with an interest in Japan's intangible heritage, what is unfolding on Miyakejima today is something unusual: a community quietly stitching its sacred performances back together, one gesture and one chant at a time. To witness even a portion of these rituals is to see cultural continuity in the making.

Highlights for Visitors

Visitors are welcome to observe the rituals from the prescribed public areas, provided they approach with quietness and respect. The most accessible opportunities include the small kagura offered at Gosai Shrine on January 8 and the grand festival of Oshaku Shrine on October 10, where portions of the traditional dances have been revived. A visit to the Miyakejima Folk Museum (Miyakejima Kyōdo Shiryōkan) provides valuable context: it displays archival video of the rituals as they were performed before 2000, together with historical palanquins and ritual implements. The adjacent Miyakejima Yakushoato — a cultural heritage site that was once the residence of the Mibu family — is open to the public during the Tokyo Cultural Property Week each November.

Exploring the Surrounding Area

Miyakejima itself is a destination of extraordinary natural and cultural depth. Travelers can hike through the stark volcanic landscapes left by repeated eruptions, visit twelve ancient shrines scattered across the coastline, and enjoy some of Japan's finest birdwatching — the island is home to the Izu thrush, the Izu leaf warbler, and other species endemic to the archipelago. The Futoga Jinja no Meguri Mikoshi, another Tokyo-designated intangible folk cultural property, is a six-day processional festival held every other summer in which a sacred palanquin circles the island visiting each district's shrine. For those who enjoy diving, the surrounding waters are celebrated for encounters with bottlenose dolphins and dramatic underwater topography sculpted by lava flows.