【潮嶽神楽】
  潮嶽神楽は宮崎県南部、日南市北郷町（きたごうちょう）北河内（きたかわち）宿野（しゅくの）に鎮座する潮嶽神社の春大祭（はるたいさい）にて伝承されている。
  日南地方の神楽は、県北部の夜神楽（よかぐら）に対し昼間に行われる日神楽（ひかぐら）であり、稲作の豊穣を祈って奉納されるため「作神楽（さくかぐら）」や「作祈祷神楽（さくきとうかぐら）」ともいわれる。
  潮嶽神社の創建は不詳であるが、現在の社殿は天保（てんぽう）３年（１８３２）に飫肥藩（おびはん）１３代藩主である伊東祐相（いとうすけとも）が造営し、拝殿は明治３２年（１８９９）に改築された。主祭神に火闌降命（ほすそりのみこと）（別名・海幸彦（うみさちひこ））、その他に彦火火出見命（ひこほほでみのみこと）（別名・山幸彦（やまさちひこ））、火明命（ほあかりのみこと）を祀る全国でも珍しい神社である。海幸彦に借りた釣り針を山幸彦がなくしてしまったことで災いが起こる故事（こじ）にちなみ、古来よりこの地では縫い針の貸し借りを禁じている。潮嶽神社では神楽以外にも、日南市指定無形民俗文化財の「獅子舞（ししまい）」や、神武東征（じんむとうせい）の前に詠まれた歌に合わせ里の娘たちが舞ったとされる「御神子舞（みこまい）」など、貴重な民俗芸能が伝承されている。春大祭では、天孫降臨の際に授けられた福種（ふくたね）の由来を説きながら種籾（たねもみ）を四方にまく「福種下ろしの神事」が行われた後、神楽が奉納される。
  潮嶽神楽の起源については不明であるが、文化３ 年（１８０６）鵜戸神宮御遷宮（うどじんぐうごせんぐう）にあたり奉納された三十六の番付の記載が『潮嶽神社神事宝典』に残る。現在は十五番が伝承され、御祭神に深い関わりが見える「魚釣り舞（うおつりまい）」や、唱から霧島信仰（きりしましんこう）をうかがわせる「鉾舞（ほこまい）」「鬼神舞（きじんまい）」、天の岩戸開きに関する「阿智女舞（あちめまい）」「手力舞（たぢからまい）」があり、豊作祈願の「箕取り舞（みどりまい）」で締めくくられる。
  潮嶽神楽は社人（しゃにん）によって舞われる。令和３（２０２１）年現在、社人１６名が在籍し、歴史ある神楽の保存継承に努めている。

【Ushiodake Kagura】
Ushiodake Kagura has been passed down for generations at the spring festival in the community of Kitakawachi, in the town of Kitago, part of Nichinan in the south of Miyazaki Prefecture.
Contrary to the yokagura, or night kagura, performed in the northern part of the prefecture, the regional kagura of the Nichinan area is performed during the day, and is hence referred to as hikagura, or day kagura. Since it is performed to pray for good rice harvests, it is also often referred to as saku kagura (harvest kagura) or sakukitō kagura (kagura to pray for the harvest).
The exact origin of Ushiodake-jinja is not known for certain, but the current main building of the shrine was built by Itō Suketomo, thirteenth lord of the domain of Obi, in 1832, who also rebuilt the haiden in 1899. The main deity enshrined at Ushiodake-jinja is Hosusori no mikoto (also known as Umisachihiko), and the shrine also honors Hikohohodemi no mikoto (also known as Yamasachihiko), and Hoakari no mikoto, making it very rare among Shinto shrines. Since there is an ancient legend in which Yamasachihiko loses a precious fishhook borrowed from Umisachihiko, which then leads to disaster, since ancient times people in the region customarily refuse to lend or borrow fishing hooks, sewing needles or similar tools. Besides kagura, Ushiodake-jinja also preserves many other forms of traditional folk entertainment, such as the shishi mai (lion dance), and the miko mai (dance of the shrine maidens), which is said to have its origin in the dance performed by local women accompanied by poetry before the departure of Emperor Jimmu for his voyage eastward to bring Japan under his control, both of which are designated by the City of Nichinan as important intangible cultural heritage assets.
At the shrine’s spring festival, after the fukudane oroshi no shinji ritual, in which seed rice is scattered while recounting the legend of the seeds brought by the deities during the descent to Earth of Ninigi no Mikoto, the kagura performance begins.
The exact origins of Ushiodake Kagura are unclear, but there is a record in Ushiodakejinja shinji hōten of a performance of thirty-six kagura dances for the installation of a sacred symbol at Udo Shrine in the third year of Bunka (1806). Nowadays, fifteen kagura dances have been passed down, including Uotsuri mai (lit. “the fishing dance”), which has a deep connection to the main deity of the shrine; Hoko mai and Kijin mai, in which you can hear the influence of the local religion of the Kirishima region in the chanted chorus; Achime mai and Tajikara mai, which relate to Ama no iwatobiraki, the myth of the opening of the heavenly cave; and finally midori mai, a dance to pray for a good harvest, which concludes the performance.
Ushiodake Kagura is performed by the shrine priests. As of 2021, there are sixteen priests registered with the shrine, all of whom work hard to preserve this historic form of kagura.