Echigo Jishi
- Lion of Echigo -

There are two pieces by this title, one in the Jiuta style, which is the older piece and one in the Nagauta style which is one of the most familiar dances and pieces of music in the classic repertory. They both show traveling lion dance performers from Echigo (Niigata Prefecture now) who would travel annually to Edo (Tokyo now) to make money with their dances. Groups of these performers would usually include small children who do a lion dance with masks on their heads and perform lion-like acrobatics while an older performer would accompany them on a drum. The Kabuki dance evokes both this street performance and the loneliness of the traveling artists far from the familiar sights of their rural homes.

- From the pamphlet of "The Nishikawa School of Japanese Classical Dance Nihon Buyo in its San Francisco Premiere Performance" -

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