The girls wield branches of the holy sakaki tree and dance to an orchestra composed of wooden clappers (hyoshigi), plucked zither (koto), mouth organ (sho), and the oboe-like hichiriki, together with flute and drum.
The girls hold branches of the Sakaki tree and dance to an orchestra.
It was done to combine the real and virtual identities so that taxes could be paid in either place.