Irikikanme, the origin of “Kimigayo” which is handed down in Omiya Shrine, and a story of “Silk Road” which provided Satsuma with Biwa and Performing Arts from mainland China is performed in collaboration of Nihonbuyo, Satsuma Biwa, ancient court music Gagaku and Shihokijinmai dance. Higashikawa Ryutaro, who belongs to Kagoshima Exploration Association and appeared on a popular TV program named “Bura Tamori”, facilitates the program and offers amusing talks about the local history and performing arts.

Background:Samurai population accounted for a quarter of that of Satsuma Domain during the Edo period. The feudal lord Shimazu created his own outer castle system by setting up more than 100 samurai residences called "Fumoto" around Yamashiro Castle to place samurai around him despite the Edo governmental order that prohibited each of domain to own more than two castles. This time, we offer traditional performing arts performance that trace the roots of Japan at the Old Masuda residence (designated national important cultural property) at Iriki Fumoto in the central area.

Iriki Fumoto is the birthplace of the national anthem “Kimigayo”, its roots are highly concerned with three pieces: Irikikanme, Satsuma samurai and Satsuma Biwa. Irikikanme, which has been succeeded since the Kamakura period, contains Juninintsurugimai dance which took a line of “May the reign of　the Emperor continue for a thousand, nay, eight thousand generations” from a Gaka (celebration poetry) in “Kokinwakashu”. The one who was impressed with it was Satsuma samurai, Shimazu Tadayoshi in the Warring States period. Writing words for a Satsuma Biwa song “Mt. Horaisan” which was one of social graces for Satsuma samurai at that time, he quoted the line above. 300 years after that, in the Meiji period, infantry captain Oyama Iwao in Satsuma Domain, who was in charge of establishing the national anthem, took the lyrics from his favorite “Mt. Horaisan”, as a result “Kimigayo” officially became the Japanese anthem.