Although the Dainichido Bugaku was interrupted for nearly six decades in the late eighteenth century, the people of Hachimantai take great pride in the restored tradition, which is the spiritual core of their solidarity.
According to legend, travelling performers of "bugaku, " the ritual dance and music of the imperial palace, visited Hachimantai Town in northern Japan in the early eighth century, during the reconstruction of Dainichido, the shrine pavilion.