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"The Yassa Festival," in which little children and a portable shrine dance in a parade along the streets, shouting "Yassa, mossa!" enthusiastically, is the biggest event at Yugawara Onsen.

“The Yassa Festival,” in which little children and a portable shrine dance in a parade along the streets, shouting “Yassa, mossa!” enthusiastically, is the biggest event at Yugawara Onsen.

“The Yassa Festival” is said to be derived from the “Sanehira Dance” started by Sanehira Jiro Doi, the lord of Doi-go (now Yugawara,) for his people’s personal security. Sanehira is known for acting as the major driving force for the revival of the Minamonto clan.
After the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate, Sanehira, highly acclaimed for his abilities, was dispatched to Aki Province (Hiroshima Prefecture) to ensure the security of the Seto Inland Sea, and made numerous achievements there. After his death, people of his domain gave birth to what is now the “Mihara Yassa,” in memory of his outstanding virtue.
Yugawara’s “Sanehira Dance” was discontinued a long time ago, but the townspeople’s love and respect for Sanehira built up, and prompted this “Mihara Yasa” to be taken in and revived as “the Yugawara Yassa.”