They dance all night. Iwami Kagura comes from the western end of Shimane, and it is at once a sacred rite and pure entertainment. On the night of an autumn festival the dancing begins in the shrine hall and goes on until dawn, the whole village watching. The great serpent appears—the eight-headed dragon of the old myth, its bodies metres long, coiling across the stage. The serpent's trunk is built of paper folded like a lantern, and it stretches, loops, tangles, and breathes fire. The music is fast, faster than the kagura of neighbouring Izumo, and the audience claps along; children press to the very front of the stage, unable to look away. A dance offered to the gods has no business being this much fun. But it is. The villagers watch through the night, rubbing their eyes, and the long kagura night somehow passes in an instant before the sky goes pale.