Kagura Dancers at the Hitaki Sai Festival, Fushimi Inari Taisha.

During the Hitaki Sai Fire Festival at Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Kagura dancers livened up the ceremony. While Shinto priests were busily trowing the prayer sticks onto the bonfires, these pretty Miko (巫女) or Shrine Maidens treated us to a traditional Kagura dance. Kagura (神楽) or “god-entertainment” is a theatrical dance—with roots arguably predating those of Noh. Originally called kamukura or kamikura (神座), kagura began as sacred dances performed at the Imperial court by shrine maidens (miko) who were