Japanese White Heron Dance - Shirasagi no Mai

Shirasagi no Mai is a traditional Japanese dance going back a thousand years where dancers were a heron costume and dance to ward off evil and bring about good harvests. The dance was originally performed in Kyoto. An emaki picture scroll shows Shirasagi no Mai being performed at Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo (Edo) in 1652. The dance was revived in 1968 to celebrate Tokyo’s 100th Anniversary as the capital. The dance is performed twice a year on November 3rd and the second Sunday in April.