The Oshima Umbrellas Dance

The Oshima Umbrellas Dance which is performed during Obon season (mid-August) is designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset by Okayama Prefecture. The characteristic of Oshima Umbrella Dance is that the dancers form many pairs and they use umbrellas as swords during they dance.
It is said that the dance started at the 99th anniversary of the lord's death in 1686 during Edo period.
At that time, people planed to use swords for the dance, but they used their umbrellas instead of swords because of the sudden rain.