| Designation | Nationally-Designated |
|---|---|
| Classification | Significant intangible folk cultural asset |
| Designated Date | May 17, 1977 |
| Designated Date in detail | |
| Amount | |
| Address | Aza-Osawa,Hiraizumi |
| Holder | |
| Retainer | the Preservation Society of “Ennen no Mai” |
| Administrator | |
| HomePage | Hiraizumi's Cultural Heritage Encyclopedia of Cultural Information in Iwate |
Summary
Ennen no Mai (Longevity Dances) are performed following Jogyozanmai-Shuho (a special prayer rite) after Matara-jin Sai (the festival of Matara , the deity of harvests ), and is also called as “Dai-Houe” (Buddhist mass) or Haru-Shinji (spring rituals).
It has been performed as a ceremony inside sanctuary of Jogyo-do Hall. The performer prepare himself in sanctuary, and senior monk who perform the Noh musician come out from Rou-so room.
At the beginning, “Notto”(ritual prayer) of “Ogan-enman”, “Sokusai-Enmei” and “Senshu-Banzai” are chanted. Then , followed by the dances of “Dengaku-odori”, “Romai”, “Karabyoshi”, “Roujo-Mai” “Jakujo-Mai” and “Kyodono-Mai”.
Generally speaking, “Ennen” is the very important fork culture in order to research the historical arts, like the court dance, music and Noh in mediaeval times. Particularly, this “ Motsu-ji Ennen” is incomparable and has great value, because of the near-perfect preservation of their original form.
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