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is a type of
Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...
ritual ceremonial dance. The term is a contraction of the phrase , indicating the presence of gods () in the practice. One major function of is , involving a procession-trance process. Usually a female shaman will perform the dance and obtain the oracle from the god—in the setting, the dancer herself turns into the god during the performance. Once strictly a ceremonial art derived from , has evolved in many directions over the span of more than a millennium. Today, it is very much a living tradition, with rituals tied to the rhythms of the agricultural calendar, thriving primarily in parts of
Shimane Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a ge ...
, and urban centers such as
Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...
.


Types of

There are two major types of : and . consists of slow circular movement, stressing quiet and elegance, while consists of quick leaping and jumping, stressing activation and energy. The two types can be understood as two phases of : is a preparation process for trance and is the unconscious trance stage. During , the female shaman, surrounded by a group of priests, holds a (a ceremonial wand used to cleanse or purify) as well as sound-producing instruments and engages with circling movement to summon deities. Once the female shaman enters a possessed state, she switches into the spontaneous leaping movements of .


History

The epics and describe a folktale origin for the dances. In these texts, there is a famous legendary tale about the sun goddess
Amaterasu , often called Amaterasu () for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (''kami'') of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () ...
, who retreated into a cave, bringing darkness and cold to the world. Ame-no-Uzume, goddess of the dawn and of revelry, led the other gods in a wild dance, and persuaded Amaterasu to emerge to see what the ruckus was all about. is one of a number of rituals and arts said to derive from this event. Originally called , began as sacred dances performed at the Imperial court by who were supposedly descendants of Ame-no-Uzume. During the performance, the shrine maidens usually utilize a channeling device for god such as masks and spears to imitate the trance. With the music that has the power to summon the gods, the start to dance to transform themselves into the representation of the gods and receive messages as well as blessings from the deities. In 1871, Iwami Shinto offices claimed that theatrical performed by priests in the west of Japan demeaned their dignity and therefore banned the performance. Owing to the support of civilian performing groups at that time, the performance pieces were still preserved. Over time, however, these performed within the sacred and private precincts of the Imperial courts, inspired popular ritual dances, called , which, being popular forms, practiced in villages all around the country, were adapted into various other folk traditions and developed into a number of different forms. Among these are , , and Ise-style and Izumo-style dances. Many more variations have developed over the centuries, including some which are fairly new, and most of which have become highly secularized folk traditions. , in particular those forms that involve storytelling or reenactment of fables, is also one of the primary influences on the Noh theatre. File:Kagura-Dance-Shinto-1914.png, Kagura dance in 1914 File:Shinto gohei.jpeg, – a ceremonial wand used to cleanse or purify File:Kagura villain.jpg, Mask from contemporary performance


Imperial

is a ritual dance performed at the imperial court and at important
Shinto shrines A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...
: Kamo-jinja and Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū. It consists of welcoming, entertaining and greeting the deities with humorous or poetic syllabic songs. Today it is sometimes considered as a sub-genre of , of which it is one of the influences. It predated Chinese inspiration, and has indigenous elements as well as influences from other elements such as , and , which are forms of , More simply, can be considered dances accompanied by music. The is the sacred vocal repertoire of 26 songs (, etc.) traditionally performed by a male choir for several days, but reduced today to 12 chants performed in six hours. Instruments used include the and/or the , with the possible addition of a and
claves Claves (; ) are a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of short, wooden sticks about 20–25 centimeters (8–10 inches) long and about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter. Although traditionally made of wood (typically rosewood, ebony ...
. There are several dances, including: * The , associated with the , making use of the or and a pair of , and with or without a
zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...
; * The , using the ; * The , associated with the , using the , the and the . The formal Imperial ritual dances are performed in a number of sacred places and on a number of special occasions. At the Imperial Sanctuary, where a replica of the Yata no kagami is kept, they are performed as part of court music. are also performed at the Imperial harvest festival and at major shrines such as Ise, Kamo, and Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū. Since around the year 1000, these events have taken place every year. According to the Board of Ceremonies of the
Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...
, still take place every December in the Imperial Sanctuary and at the Imperial harvest festival ceremonies.


Folk

, or "normal ", is a wide umbrella term containing a great diversity of folk dances derived from the , and incorporated with other folk traditions. It is the partial origin of both Noh and .. A number of traditions of folk exist:. * – dances performed by shrine maidens () originally derived from ritual dances in which the channeled the , as part of Imperial Court dances. These originally had a very loose form, akin to similar god-possession dances and rituals, but over time they have developed, into highly regular set forms. Today, they are performed by shrines during the festival and in worship to as part of a . They are also performed at Buddhist temples as a
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
performance. These dances are often performed with ritual props, such as bells, bamboo canes, sprigs of , or paper streamers. * – dances based on those performed at Izumo Shrine serve a number of purposes, including
ritual purification Ritual purification is a ritual prescribed by a religion through which a person is considered to be freed of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification ...
, celebration of auspicious days, and the reenactment of folktales. Originally quite popular in the
Chūgoku region The , also known as the region, is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 7,328,339 ...
, near Izumo, these dances have spread across the country, and have developed over the centuries, becoming more of a secular folk entertainment and less of a formal religious ritual. The sacred dance of the Sada shrine has been inscribed on the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
list of
Intangible cultural heritage of humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...
since 2011. * – a form of dances derived from
Yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhism and Shinto. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or holy persons) of the eighth ...
(a mobile group that embraces ascetic lives to gain power). This genre stresses on the power and energy. The performers always wear masks and use tools such as drum and sword to represent the magical power processed by Yamabushi. It was inscribed in 2009 as an
Intangible cultural heritage of humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...
by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
. * – a form of dances where and priests dip bamboo leaves in hot water and splash the hot water on themselves by shaking the leaves, and then scattering the hot water to people around the area. * – a form of
lion dance Lion dance ( zh, s=舞狮, t=舞獅, p=wǔshī, c=, first=t) is a form of traditional dance in Culture of China, Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a Asiatic lion, lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good l ...
, in which a group of dancers take on the role of the lion () and parade around the town. The lion mask and costume is seen as, in some ways, embodying the spirit of the lion, and this is a form of folk worship and ritual, as other forms of lion dances are in Japan and elsewhere. * – a form of dance deriving from rituals performed by traveling priests between
Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami and the grain goddess Toyouke-hime (Toyouke Omikami). Also known simply as , Ise Shrine is a shrine complex composed of many Shi ...
and Atsuta Shrine, who would travel to villages, crossroads, and other locations to help the locals by driving away evil spirits. Acrobatic feats and lion dances played a major role in these rituals. Around the time of the beginning of the
Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...
(1603–1868), performances derived from this emerged in Edo as a major form of entertainment. In connection with the celebrations surrounding the beginning of the shogunate, lion dances, acrobatics, juggling, and a great variety of other entertainments were performed on stages across the city, all nominally under the auspices of . Over the course of the period, these came to be more closely associated with storytelling and other forms of popular entertainment. continues to be performed to this day and include many elements of street entertainment.


See also

* *
Glossary of Shinto This is the glossary of Shinto, including major terms on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk (*) are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galleries. __NOTOC__ A * – A red papier-mâché cow bobblehead toy; a kind of ''engimono ...
* *
Mystery play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represe ...
s * Kagura Service in Tenrikyo


References

*Derived primarily from the Japanese Wikipedia article. *Giolai Andrea, ''Introducing Mikagura.Some Ethnomusicological Features of an Ancient Japanese Ritual'', https://web.archive.org/web/20160316132415/http://www.centrostudiorientaliroma.net/introducing-mikagura-%e5%be%a1%e7%a5%9e%e6%a5%bd-some-ethnomusicological-features-of-an-ancient-japanese-ritual/?lang=en


External links

* {{Authority control Dances of Japan Japanese traditional music Japanese words and phrases Shinto terminology