Haraikawa Kagura is a Shinto ritual performed in Haraikawa, Takaharu-cho, Nishimorokata-gun, Miyazaki Pref. It is selected as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property by the nation and designated as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property by the prefecture. Haraikawa Kagura is a Shinto dance and music handed down and performed by 28 families in Haraikawa, which are the parishioners of Kirishima Higashi Shrine. The kagura starts with the scene of the villagers calming the anger of the mountain god and inviting the god to Naorai (a banquet). After the ritual to invite the mountain god is held near the village, the dancers move to the open space in front of Haraikawa Kaguraden (kagura hall), where they perform a variety of dances from the evening to about 9:00 o’clock in the next morning. The oldest mask used in the kagura dances was made in the Edo period (1603-1868), but the history of this kagura itself is dated back to even older times. On the night of the kagura dance, villagers are treated with Shochu (Japanese distilled spirit) and hand-made soba noodles. The kagura is called “Kanme (the dance for the god)” by the local people. Haraikawa Kagura has been handed down in the same style since the ancient times.