The drums start before you see anything. Then a masked god steps onto a shrine stage lit by lanterns, and a red demon answers him. That is kagura.

Kagura (神楽) is a form of sacred Shinto dance and music theater, based on Japanese mythology and performed as an offering to the gods. The name is usually translated as "entertaining the gods".

Kagura definition

Kagura is a form of traditional Japanese theater, as kabuki is. It differs on one key point. Kabuki stages dramatic, often human stories. Kagura tells mythological tales.

The rituals are dedicated to the Shinto gods, the kami. Their roots probably predate those of noh (能), the older masked theater of the imperial and warrior classes. They were performed during Shinto religious ceremonies.

Since ancient times, kagura has been performed at regional festivals. It served as a prayer of thanks for the harvest and as a way to ward off natural disasters.

The themes stay simple on purpose. A god arrives, a demon resists, the demon falls. The stories come from a variety of mythological sources, which is why each region can claim its own repertoire.

The masks carry most of the drama. The demon face, the horned red oni mask, is the one visitors remember. I keep one on the wall of my workspace for exactly that reason: it holds a room.

Kagura dance origins

The exact origin is not documented. Tradition traces it to the myth of Amano-Iwato, told in the Kojiki (古事記). Written about 1,300 years ago, the Kojiki gathers myths, legends and semi-historical stories, many of them battles between gods and demons. It is Japan's oldest surviving chronicle.

In the story, Amaterasu Okami, the sun goddess, shuts herself in a cave after her brother's misdeeds. The world falls into cold, gloom and desolation.

Kagura was first called kamukura or kamikura. These were sacred dances performed at the imperial court by shrine maidens, the miko (巫女), said to descend from Ame-no-Uzume, goddess of dawn and mirth.

Ame-no-Uzume is the one who brought Amaterasu out. She led the other gods in a wild dance so loud and joyful that the goddess opened the cave to see what was happening. The sun returned, and with it the seasons and the crops. That dance is considered the first kagura.

Kagura theater history to our present day

The court version, mikagura, stayed inside the sacred and private space of the imperial palace. It inspired popular Japanese ritual dances called satokagura, practiced in villages across the country.

Those village forms adapted to local folk traditions and branched out. Among them: miko kagura, shishi kagura, and the Ise and Izumo style kagura dances. The forms that narrate or reenact fables are also one of the main influences on noh.

Each region shaped its own version. In Shimane Prefecture, in western Japan, "Iwami kagura" is known for its fast pace, colorful costumes and simple mythological plots.

Other variants appeared over the centuries. Some are fairly recent, and most have become secular folk traditions. Every region now has its own kagura, passed down for generations.

Today kagura is often staged in an auditorium or a hall. In the past, people performed it where they lived and dedicated it to the local gods.

The old rhythm survives. In farming villages, once the rice harvest ends in autumn, kagura is performed on shrine stages to thank the gods. People gather and watch all night. Some historical performances ran for up to three days.

The costume side is what draws many of our customers in. Layered kimono, wide hakama, a jacket that catches the light when the dancer spins. The everyday cousin of that stage jacket is the haori (羽織), the short open coat worn over a kimono.

Where can you see kagura performances?

There are kagura forms all over the country, many of them barely publicized outside their own valley. Listing them all is impossible. Two places stand out.

Shimane

Shimane is one of the birthplaces of Japanese mythology, and kagura is deeply rooted there. The prefecture counts more than 100 kagura troupes. The style practiced in the west is called Iwami kagura, after the old name of the region.

Kagura began as a Shinto ritual and became popular entertainment over the centuries. With urbanization and regional change, some rituals faded for lack of transmission to the next generation.

Iwami kagura kept its line of transmission. It evolved and remains very popular locally. Its markers: fast music and dance, vivid costumes, straightforward stories.

In Iwami there are over 130 active kagura organizations, known locally as Shachu.

Akiotacho

The same influence reaches the northern part of neighboring Hiroshima Prefecture, another kagura hot spot. The area is called Geihoku, and its style is Geihoku kagura.

Akiotacho, the center of Geihoku kagura, is a town of about 8,800 people, created in October 2004 by the merger of Togouchi with a neighboring town and village.

Each troupe is attached to a shrine, which anchors its activity. Other occasions to perform are plentiful, such as the lifelong learning festivals sponsored by the local Board of Education.

Add events in neighboring towns and regular rehearsals, and the sound of the hayashikata can be heard all year round in Akiotacho. For the people there, kagura is a traditional art woven into daily life.

Akiotacho counts 18 kagura troupes, two of them for children.

Who practices Kagura?

Kagura is mostly practiced by local citizens who train in the evenings and on weekends. These volunteer groups are invited to perform at festivals and community gatherings.

Historically, only the Shinto priests in charge of the shrines could perform it. They were exclusively men, and most kagura today is still danced by men. That is shifting, and women performers are increasingly common.

Children take to kagura easily, and there are troupes made for them. Some schools include it in their curriculum. Akiotacho itself, despite being a kagura stronghold, saw membership decline, which worried local authorities.

The turnaround came from the children of members, who asked their parents to let them practice too. Through the efforts of Kono Yoshihisa, the Hongo Children's Kagura Troupe was created. Mr. Kono now directs the group, affiliated with the Ichinomiyaotoshi Shrine in the city's Hongo district.

Performers fall into two categories: maikata and hayashikata.

Maikata dance

The maikata dance in embroidered costumes: kimono, hakama (袴, the wide pleated trousers), and a kagura mask, often the white demon face. They also wear wigs called gasso, and they speak between dance sequences.

These are the roles audiences watch for. If a mask is what pulled you toward kagura, our Japanese mask pieces are handcrafted by talented local artisans, in the same demon and fox families you see on stage.

Hayashikata dance

The hayashikata handle the music. Their instruments include the odaiko (a large drum), the kodaiko (a smaller drum), the chochigane (a small hand cymbal) and the yokobue (a transverse flute).

So a kagura has two halves. The actors carry the story through their characters. The musicians build the atmosphere that holds it together. And today, anyone can join, children included.

A Japanese traditional art that endures among others

You now have an overview of what kagura is and what it represents in Japan's traditional culture. You know who performs it and where to watch it.

Keep in mind that Japanese culture is vast and kagura is one small part of it. Japanese theater alone holds several distinct traditions, noh and kabuki among them.

That is also how we choose pieces at KimuraKami. Wabi-Sabi teaches that a hand-painted mask with a slight irregularity is more alive than a perfect copy. Kaizen is the troupe rehearsing the same sequence every week for thirty years.

FAQ