Shinto music

Kagura performed by miko at the Hachiman shrine in Tamba, Hyōgo Prefecture

Shinto music is the ceremonial and festive music of Shinto (神道), the native religion of Japan. Its origin myth is the erotic dance of Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto which lured Amaterasu from her cave.[1]

Kagura

Kagura (神楽) or 'entertainment of the gods' includes music, dance and poetry and comprises mi-kagura of the court, o-kagura of major shrines such as Ise Jingū, and village sato-kagura.[2]

Forms

The repertoire includes eight forms that may be traced back to the eighth century: kagura-uta (kagura songs), azuma asobi (eastern entertainment), kume-uta (palace guard songs) ō-uta (big songs), onaibi-uta (night duty songs), ruika (funeral songs), ta-uta (field songs), and yamato-uta (Yamato songs).[2]

Instruments

Instruments include the wagon (和琴), kagura-bue (神楽笛), hichiriki (篳篥), suzu (鈴), tsuzumi (鼓), and shakubyōshi (笏拍子) clappers. In local festivals the kane (鉦), binzasara (編木), and taiko (太鼓) may also be found.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sadie, Stanley (ed.) (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians XII.850f. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-517067-2.
  2. 1 2 3 Malm, William P. (2000). Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments. Kodansha. pp. 47–65. ISBN 4-7700-2395-2.


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