It is a traditional dance of three lions, each performed by one person. It is believed that Ōkantōryū Karajishi Odori began to be performed in Kyoho 20, which corresponds to 1735. It has also been called "Matsuki Shishi Odori" because it was performed in Matsuki village. This dance played an important role in a summer ceremony and became deeply connected to the region's history.   

This dance was said to be prestigious to be performed in front of Satake, the former lord of Akita Domain. It suggests that this dance was highly evaluated not only within the region but also from the domain.

Hashitake-odori (橋懸踊 / Bridge-crossing dance), Kibankake-odori (基盤懸踊 / Dance performed on a stage or wooden board), and Kuyo-odori (供養踊 / Memorial dance) were once inherited until recently; however, all performances have been suspended since 2021. Because of the lack of successors, especially children, they were no longer passed down. While this dance, which had been inherited for around three hundred years by the local people, cannot be performed today, its history and cultural value were preserved through the Akita Folkloric Performance Art Archives, video recordings, and interviews with practitioners. These archival materials can be a precious resource for showing the traditional arts of this region to future generations.

There were 15 types of performance, and especially "Kandachi-odori" (神達躍), "Kito-odori" (祈禱躍), and "kaigen-odori" (開眼躍) were considered as secret number three. 

Each lion has its own characteristics. In the head of a lion, there was an eyebrow decoration in addition to a horn; a male lion had the decoration of a full moon, and a female lion had that of a half moon. A middle lion had an ornament in the shape of a half moon and a sword. These decorations can be considered as the role and symbolism of each lion. There were 16 types of Yakko odori, which originated from the processions of feudal lords.

Staff art, called Bojutsu (棒術), had two schools: Shinto-ryu (神闘流) and Toda-ryu (戸田流), and had 25 types, including stick, sword, and sickle. It suggests that Ōkantōryū Karajishi Odori can include elements of martial arts. This performance was said to rarely include the sasara dance (ささら振り), which is less common in other regions, but it was left just as folklore. 

The music featured drums and flutes, with spoken introductions that added elements of storytelling alongside the dance.
From the video of the performance, it can be seen that the performers get in sync with each other with strong steps.

In this way, Ōkantōryū Karajishi Odori was one of the traditional arts in Akita, in which dance, music, martial arts, and local history were merged.