This vibrant wooden folk craft set represents the Shishi Odori (鹿踊り), or "Deer Dance," a traditional performing art from the Tōhoku region of Japan, particularly Iwate Prefecture. Displayed on a painted base that reads Hanamaki Shishi Odori (花巻鹿踊), these charming figures are a miniature tribute to a centuries-old ritual dance that blends spirituality, celebration, and theatricality.
Each figure is adorned in a black costume with dynamic red, white, and blue patterns, wearing a fierce deer mask complete with white "fur" and upright bamboo antlers. The costumes replicate the bold attire worn by dancers during the real-life Shishi Odori, which is performed to the beat of taiko drums strapped to the dancers' chests.
The Shishi Odori is often performed during summer festivals and Obon to honor ancestral spirits and pray for a good harvest. The dance mimics the movements of deer — a sacred animal in Japanese folklore — and is both a form of entertainment and a ritual offering.
