Added to inquiry!
DOCUMENTARY

Oni-kenbai: Prayer in Motion

DOCUMENTARY 2012 30 mins Episode(s): 1 English English
The Oni-kenbai demon sword dance has been passed down from fathers to sons to grandchildren, with no additions or amendments for generations.
Not simply a dance to pray for happiness, it's to ensure the spirits of ancestors of both dancers and viewers are kept alive, while driving away evil.

This is the demons' gift they want to leave behind.

  •  

    Castle in the Sky and Granddaddy's Cherry Tree
    2021 60 minutes

    The Takeda Castle ruins in Asago City are known as the “Castle in the Sky” as they are located on a mountain top and look to be floating in the sky.  Wild cherry trees growing on the mountain slope are another symbol of the city. The trees, preserved over generations,...
    more details
  •  

    In Their Own Words
    2025 98 minutes

    In 1932, Japan established the puppet state of Manchukuo in northeastern China, where 270,000 Japanese farmers settled. Yet, as Japan's defeat in WW2 neared, the Japanese army retreated, leaving the settlers to be attacked. The Kurokawa settlers turned to the Russian army ーtheir enemy ー for help, offering 15 young,...
    more details
  •  

    Takaoka Mikuruma-yama Festival -Turning the Wheels of Tradition-
    2018 30 mins

    [Festivals of Japan Season 2] The Takaoka Mikuruma-yama Festival in Toyama Prefecture was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Asset in December 2016. With the creaking sounds of the turning wheels, the seven lavish floats make their way along the same route they have gone since ancient times, pushed onwards...
    more details
  •  

    Yoshida Fire Festival -Japan's 3 Major Unusual Festivals-
    2018 30 mins

    [Festivals of Japan Season 2] Bright flames rise from giant torches, staining the city and skies with their bright red color... The Yoshida Fire Festival is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan that signals the end of summer at Mount Fuji (a World Cultural Heritage.) This episode focuses...
    more details