【高鍋神楽 六社連合大神事】
  高鍋神楽は宮崎県の高鍋町、木城町、新富町、川南町、都農町、美郷町南郷区にまたがり保存継承されている。
  高鍋神楽の「六社連合大神事」は、高鍋藩を領した秋月氏が特に崇敬した領内の６つの郷社が輪番で神楽奉納を行う伝統芸能である。
  初代藩主である秋月種長公（あきづきたねながこう）の姫君が大病を患った折、藩に仕えていた大寺余惣衛門（おおてらよそえもん）が木城町比木神社（ひきじんじゃ）へ千日間参拝し祈願し続けたところ平癒し、報恩感謝のため神楽を奉納したことが「六社連合大神事」の原型となる「神事（かみごと）」のはじまりとされる。
  明治の世に入り、神仏分離運動や廃藩置県などの政策によって高鍋神楽存続の危機が訪れるも大正６年（１９１７）の高鍋神楽保存会設立計画を契機に、伊勢神宮での奉納神楽に参加し、その名を知られるようになる。後に第二次世界大戦をはさみ敬神の心も薄れるも、歴史ある神楽を後世へ残していくため、昭和３０年頃より神職有志によって高鍋神楽保存会結成の運びとなり、年に一度神楽を統合して奉納する現在の「六社連合大神事」の形ができあがった。６年に一度の役目を担う神社は、境内に「山」と呼ばれる神籬（ひもろぎ）を建て、規模の大きな斎庭（ゆにわ）を設える。
  「六社連合大神事」は旧暦の１２月２日に近い土、日曜日に輪番で奉納されており、平成３０年度は高鍋神楽発祥の地と伝わる木城町比木神社にて執り行われた。比木神社では毎年、夜通しの「神事」が行われており、こちらの当番年のみ比木神社の例祭日に合わせて奉納される。
  高鍋神楽の中でも、新富町三納代（みなしろ）の八幡神社は「蛇切（じゃきり）」など独自の番付を有しており、町を跨いで協力し合いながら各神楽の個性を活かす形態がとられている。
  平成２９年には伊勢神宮にて１００年ぶりの神楽奉納を果たし、さらに、平成３０年には全国民俗芸能大会で神楽を披露した。近年子ども神楽の育成にも力を注ぎ、後世に伝える活動を精力的に行っている。

【Takanabe Kagura: Rokusha Rengō Daishinji】
Takanabe kagura has been passed down throughout the years in the towns of Takanabe, Kijo, Shintomi, Kawaminami, Tsuno, and the Nango area of Misato.
The rokusha rengō daishinji is a traditional custom where six local shrines frequented by the Akizuki Clan, who ruled the feudal domain of Takanabe, take turns to host annual kagura performances.
It is believed that the tradition originated when the daughter of Akizuki Tanenaga, the first daimyo of Takanabe, was taken seriously ill, and a servant of the domain, Ōtera Yosoemon, went to Hiki-jinja in Kijo and prayed for a thousand days. The performance of kagura ritual dances as thanks for the daimyo’s daughter’s recovery is thought to have been the original form of the rokusha rengō daishinji.
Around the start of the late 19th Century, the Government policies on the separation of Shinto and Buddhism and the abolition of the feudal domain system meant the future of Takanabe Kagura was in some doubt, but following a directive to establish a Takanabe Kagura Preservation Society in 1917, Takanabe kagura was performed at Ise-jingu grand shrine, and so the name became more widely known. Later, due to the Second World War, interest in Shinto faded again, but around 1955 some interested Shinto priests and volunteers reformed the Takanabe Kagura Preservation Society with the aim of preserving the historic form of kagura for future generations, and integrated the performances into the modern annual event that we see today. When each shrine hosts the performance once every six years, they must build a himorogi, or temporary Shinto altar, that is referred to as a yama (meaning ‘mountain’), and purify a large space within the shrine precincts.
The rokusha rengō daishinji is performed over the weekend closest to the second day of the twelfth month on the old lunisolar calendar, and in 2018 it was held in the birthplace of Takanabe kagura, Hiki-jinja in Kijo. Hiki-jinja holds all-night kagura performances every year, but only performs kagura on its annual festival when it is their turn to host the rokusha rengō daishinji.
Even within Takanabe Kagura, Hachiman-jinja in Minashiro, Shintomi, has a unique repertoire, such as the jakiri, or ‘snake-cutting’ kagura, and many other aspects that encourage people from all over the town to get together and embrace the uniqueness of Kagura.
Following a kagura performance at Ise-jingu in 2017, 100 years after the previous performance, it was announced that kagura was to be performed at the national culture festival in 2018. In recent years, the region is also actively working to preserve kagura for future generations by educating local children about kagura.