In Photos: Community in Japan's Akita Pref. retains lion dance tradition for over 200 years

Before a "kagura" performance, Tetsuya Ikeda, second from left, and his sons give a prayer to a lion mask at Kataho Hachiman-jinja shrine in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, on April 17, 2022. He and eldest son Yamato, foreground, will be the lion and second son Taira, left, will be the clown, "Saizo." (Satoshi Takahashi)

A "kagura" performance with a lion and "Saizo," a clown, is seen at Kataho Hachiman-jinja in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture on April 17, 2022. (Satoshi Takahashi)

A "kagura" performance of a lion and "Saizo," a clown, is seen at Kataho Hachiman-jinja in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, on April 17, 2022. (Satoshi Takahashi)

After dedicating a "kagura" performance to Shinto gods at Kataho Hachiman-jinja, the participants parade through the Kataho district in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, with a portable shrine carrying the lion mask, on April 17, 2022. (Satoshi Takahashi)

One of the performers, Hisashi Saito, plays the flute as he parades through the Kataho district in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, on April 17, 2022. He has taken part in the Kataho Hachiman-jinja's kagura performances for more than half a century, since he was 18 years old. (Satoshi Takahashi)

Tetsuya Ikeda and his sons give a prayer to the lion mask at the home of the family organizing this year's Kataho Hachiman-jinja festival, in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, on April 17, 2022. After the prayer, they performed "kagura" in the house. (Satoshi Takahashi)

At the home of the family that organized this year's Kataho Hachiman-jinja festival, the lion and "Saizo," a clown, perform one of the "kagura" dances, in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, on April 17, 2022. (Satoshi Takahashi)

At the home of the family that will organize next year's Kataho Hachiman-jinja festival, the lion and "Saizo," a clown, perform one of the "kagura" dances, in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, on April 17, 2022. (Satoshi Takahashi)

All events of the Kataho Hachiman-jinja festival are finished, and the lion mask is returned to the shrine in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, on April 17, 2022. (Satoshi Takahashi)

This image taken in the Kataho district of Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, on April 17, 2022, shows a record of "kagura" performances at the Kataho Hachiman-jinja shrine. This page records the festival date in 1922, and details of the first performance after a hiatus of at least a decade. (Satoshi Takahashi)