From kagura you watch,
to kagura you can touch.

The great serpent is the star of Iwami Kagura, a sacred dance-theater of Hamada, Shimane. Its body, the jadō, is built of layered Sekishu washi over bamboo rings. On stage it breathes fire, crawls the ground, and takes the sparks — one body dancing for roughly 30 years.

Eventually the paper frays and tears, and the serpent leaves the stage. The paper that captivated audiences for decades was, until now, simply discarded.

“Never make anything halfway.”

Facing each sheet of retired jadō paper, the maker mends and recolors the damage by hand, then remakes it into tools for daily life. This is the work of the self-titled “Orochigami artisan,” and the origin of the workshop Upcycle Sanyotei.

Iwami Kagura's serpent — each body dances for about 30 years.