The “Sannin Setsugi Shishimai” (Three-Person Shoulder Stack Lion Dance) is a traditional performing art that has been handed down since the Edo period in the Hiroshima district of Matsushige Town, Tokushima Prefecture; it is a dynamic lion dance dedicated to the local Kasuga Shrine every two years. The name “Sannin Setsugi” literally means “three people connecting their backs,” and true to this name, the performance culminates with three performers stacking themselves—forming a human tower—allowing two lions to rear up to a towering height of 3.5 meters above the ground, a feat that is extremely rare nationwide.

Text as provided by the organiser(s).