"Dekansho, Dekansho, and half the year is spent." So begins the song that has defined summer in this castle town for four centuries. During the August Obon, people gather around a tall wooden tower in the grounds of the old Sasayama Castle and form circles that grow wider as the night deepens. The Dekansho song has thousands of verses, recording the loves, seasons, and labors of the region. The dance began as an Obon folk tradition in the Edo period and spread nationwide when students carried it to summer retreats. There is a myth that the name abbreviates three Western philosophers, though no one is certain. What is certain is the sound of drums and voices carrying across the moat until well past midnight.