【大河内神楽】
　大河内神楽が伝承されている宮崎県椎葉村大河内は、椎葉村の南部に位置し、南は西米良村に接している。大河内の夜神楽は、大藪（おおやぶ）・合戦原（かせばる）・矢立（やたて）・大河内の４つの地区の神社の輪番で奉納されており、同じ祝子（ほうりこ）によって舞われるが、各地区に異なった特色を見ることができる。
　大河内地区の神楽は、鎮守である大河内八幡神社（おおかわちはちまんじんじゃ）で奉納される。平年の小祭（こまつ）りは半夜神楽だが、４年に一度の夜神楽は「注連（しめ）の願（がん）」と呼ばれ、外神屋（そとこうや）が設えられ大宝（たいほう）の注連（しめ）が立つ。本来、大宝の注連は、願成就の折に立てられるものであったが、現在は神楽を保存するために大河内八幡神社の大祭でのみ行われている。「しめ引き」「綱荒神（つなこうじん）」「綱切（つなき）り」など、注連の願神楽のみで奉納される番付もあり、「綱切り」では真剣を使った蛇切（じゃき）りが行われる。
　「猪舞（ししまい）」は、猪狩りの様子を面白おかしく再現し、山の神への感謝と豊猟を祈願する。この「猪舞」は椎葉村内の他の地区では見られないが、隣接する米良山（めらやま）の神楽には同様の番付が多く存在する。
　岩戸番付「手力（たちから）（下（しも）の重（じゅう））」では、“おつきさん”と呼ばれる子どもが演じる天照大神を引き出す。子どもたちは幼い頃から夜神楽に参加し、せり唄を覚えて賑やかに囃（はや）す。平成元年（１９８９）に大河内子ども神楽の発足以来、大祭だけでなく、椎葉村内の子ども郷土芸能発表大会や平家まつりなどで神楽を披露している。現在の祝子１５名のうち、半数以上が子ども神楽を経ており、子ども神楽が大河内神楽の継承と持続可能な地域づくりに繋がる活動となっている。

【Ōkawachi Kagura】
Ōkawachi, in the village of Shiiba in Miyazaki Prefecture, where Ōkawachi kagura has been passed down through the generations, is located in the southern part of Shiiba, bordering the village of Nishimera on its southern side. The yokagura (night kagura) in Ōkawachi is performed in rotation at shrines in four areas in the region – Ōyabu, Kazebaru, Yatate and Ōkawachi, and although each area’s performances are given by the same hōriko (performers), they each have a slightly different set of characteristics.
Kagura is performed at Ōkawachi Hachiman-jinja, the head shrine for the area. At regular festivals each year, the kagura is performed for half the evening (and as such is referred to as han’ya kagura), but once every four years, the yokagura is referred to as shime no gan (Lit.: prayers for the sacred pillar); the shime (sacred pillar), an important local treasure, is raised and a kōya (sacred area for the performing of kagura) is set up outside. Normally, the treasured shime was also raised for important prayers, but nowadays, in order to preserve the local style of kagura, it is only raised at the taisai (main annual festival) of Ōkawachi Hachiman-jinja. There are several dances, such as shimehiki, tsuna kōjin and tsunakiri, that are only performed at shime no gan kagura, and in tsunakiri, a real sword is used for the jakiri (Lit.: snake-cutting) section.
Shishi mai (Lit.: the boar dance) depicts the hunting of wild boars in a comical fashion, and is performed to give thanks to the gods of the mountains and pray for good luck in hunting. Shishi mai is not seen in any of the other kagura styles in Shiiba, but a similar dance features in the Merayama kagura from the neighboring region.
In the dance tajikara (shimo no jū), which depicts the story of ama no iwato, the role of Amaterasu Ōmikami, the sun goddess who is drawn out of the cave, is performed by a child, referred to as otsuki-san. Following the establishment of the Ōkawachi kodomo kagura (Ōkawachi children’s kagura) in 1989, this dance is performed not only at the taisai, but also at local festivals in Shiiba such as the kodomo furusato geinō happyō taikai (local children’s performing arts festival) and the Heike matsuri. Currently, of the fifteen hōriko in the region, over half have performed in kodomo kagura, and it is viewed as an important local activity for the preservation of Ōkawachi kagura.