Dengaku, literally “field music” or “field entertainment,” figures as one of the most important genres of traditional Japanese music, that is, music developed in Japan before the Meiji period (1868–1912). Dengaku has played a role in ceremonies at major religious institutions since at least the twelfth century and continues to be performed at many locations today, including the Kasuga Wakamiya shrine in Nara prefecture, the Nachi shrine in Wakayama prefecture, the Mikachi Hachiman shrine in Fukuchiyama (Kyōto-fu), the Yasaka shrine in Yasaka-chō (Kyōto-fu), the Hie shrine in Yashiro (Kyoto), the Ωji shrine in Tōkyō-to, the Kanasayama shrines in Ibaraki prefecture, Mōtsūji in Hiraizumi (Iwate prefecture), Sensōji in downtown Tokyo, and other religious institutions throughout the land.