1.5.1: Japanese Kagura

Some dance rituals from Japanese Shintoism are rooted in animism. Kagura is an ancient style of Japanese dance that is dedicated to invoking or honoring the Shinto gods, the term Kagura coming from kami’gakari, meaning “oracular divinification”. Except for Hokkaido island, Kagura is popular in all prefectures of Japan dating back to the Nara period (AD. 710-794) (Horiuchi & Morino 2015), though some believe the tradition of Kagura dance dates back to the origin myth of Japan, which describes how the ancestral spirits created Japanese archipelagoes. With slow moving stage mechanics, live musicians, and traditional dress, Kagura is a living tradition, with rituals tied to the rhythms of the agricultural calendar. The Japanese word “Kagura” translates literally to “entertaining the gods” or “god entertainment”.

Definition: Animism

A belief in the existence of an ‘animated’ soul, not just in people, but the existence of consciousness or numerous spirit deities infused in everything in nature.

The concept was originally born from Japanese epic tales detailing Japan’s mythical creation. The story called Amano Iwato involves the sun goddess Amaterasu who retreated to a cave closed with a large boulder because she was frightened by her powerful brother Susanowa, the storm god. Her disappearance deprived the world of light and life, so demons ruled the earth. Amaterasu refused to come out of the cave, so the gods tried all manner of tactics to make her come out from the cave. Eventually, it is said that the comedic dance performed by the spirit Uzume created the beginnings of Kagura dance as the method to inspire curiosity and please the sun goddess Amaterasu, so she reemerged from the cave bringing light (and life) back to the world.

Figure 1.9. Miko-mai performing ritual Kagura. (Mikomai (日本, from Japan). (2001, September). Urayasu-no-Mai-Kagura.jpg. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urayasu-no-Mai-Kagura.jpg )

Highly ritualistic, Kagura is typically performed at Shinto shrines as sacred music and dance performed by miko-mai, female Shinto dancers carrying a small baton with bells (Figure 1.7). These shrine maidens request fertility and harvest success for a local community, or to honor the Japanese imperial court. The Japanese people had traditionally believed that the imperial line, the emperor and empress, are direct descendants of Amaterasu (Takiguchi, 2023). Scholars trace the origins of Kagura to the ritual dances performed by Shinto priests and shrine maidens to honor and tell the stories of the gods, though the dance form can be found at secular festivals and tourist centers as a means to entertain and share their classical stories. Performances usually consist of a simple theme, Gods eliminating demons. These simple stories of gods defeating demons are based on myths from Kojiki and other early historical documents. In Eastern Kyushu, Kagura is performed in the town of Takachiho at an annual festival, with dance performances beginning in the evening and completing it in the next morning. These myths are believed to originate from the religious belief that demons caused droughts and flooding and that, through prayer, the gods could defeat these demons.

There are different types of Kagura, however, and the ancient dance evolved into different styles and have been used for different cultural functions. Yutate Kagura, performed at Jōnangū in southern Kyoto is a ritual once used for divination purposes, then purification, and in the present day it is primarily a way to pray for good health.

Figure 1.10. Epic Izumo Kagura as performed in Shimane Prefecture. (Iku. (2010, 3 May). Shimane-izuo kagura. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shimane-izumo_kagura-m.jpg ; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shimane-izumo_kagura-m.jpg )

Izumo-ryuu Kagura in Shimane Prefecture is iconic in the use of elaborate masks during performances to depict sacred myths and shrine omens, and sometimes even political propaganda. The rising specter of mid-19th century foreign intervention played a central role in the use of Kagura to tell tales between the gods and demons and used the theatrical device as a means to also transmit political messages to the Japanese people. A less ritualized Kagura dance emerged in Shimane Prefecture, the launch point for territorial defense against potential invasion from the east.

Used as a political tool for propaganda starting in the late 16th century, during a period of volatility while there was efforts toward territorial unification of Japan, Kagura dance was used to generate a rise in Japanese nationalist sentiment (Lancashire, 2017). With an aim of controlling Korea and China, there is evidence in the choreography of Sankan, a form of Izumo Kagura that there is a histroical connection between the Sankan dance drama and the territorial bitterness between Japan and Korea (Chanlett-Avery et al., 2017). The story depicts a Japanese military force (the gods) dispatched to the Korean peninsula (demons) and effectively defeats The Three Kingdoms of Korea, Baekje (18 B.C.E. – 660 C.E.). Goguryeo (36 B.C.E. – 668 C.E.), and Silla (57 B.C.E. – 935 C.E.). This dance fell out of favor following the Japanese defeat after World War II, as the politicized, non-ritual form was regarded as an expression of imperial nationalism and unsuitable given the times following the rape of Nanking and Peal Harbor atrocities.

Iwami Kagura has continued to evolve and remains very popular in this region. Some notable Gods normally will carry a hei (Shinto staff with paper streamers), sword, or bow with arrows. Meanwhile, the demon characters perform elaborate showy stagecraft displaying an onibo (demon stick). Government authorities have begun to make policies to ensure the survival of Izumo Kagura because there is a problem sustaining traditions with rampant modern-day population decline in Japan (Lancashire, 2017). In 1978, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology started to make policies ensuring the preservation of traditional Japanese culture and ritual by naming the Takachiho Kagura as an important intangible cultural asset and many tourists visit to attend the Kagura dance festivals today.