JAPANESE CULTURE, EXPLAINED
日本舞踊
Nihon buyō here names the dance tradition developed through kabuki dance and Kamigata dance, rather than every dance performed in Japan. A piece may be described differently within a kabuki production and in a dance specialist’s recital.
Kyōganoko Musume Dōjōji, Nakamura Shikan VII, National Theatre’s 159th kabuki production, March 1990. Japan Arts Council.
In the kudoki, an expressive passage of Kyōganoko Musume Dōjōji, nagauta accompanies a towel used as a mirror and mimed rouge application before meeting a lover. Gesture and context give the prop meaning; a towel does not always signify a mirror.
Kyōganoko Musume Dōjōji, Nakamura Shikan VII, National Theatre’s 159th kabuki production, March 1990. Japan Arts Council.
For hikinuki in Musume Dōjōji, costumes are layered and held by temporary threads. An assistant releases them and removes the outer layer in time with the performer. Preparation and coordination create the visible change.
Genroku-period shosagoto developed expressive, story-bearing gesture. Transformation dances flourished in the early nineteenth century, with one performer changing roles; sections such as Shiokumi later became independent pieces. A dance seen today may once have belonged to a larger sequence.
Kamigata or jiuta-mai uses jiuta shamisen accompaniment and developed in limited zashiki interiors; theater settings can evoke them with screens and lamps. Aoi no Ue moves from Rokujō’s courtly recollections through lament to fierce jealousy. Restrained movement still has to convey these changing states, rather than one unvarying mood or pace.
Meiji reform drew on noh and kyōgen, while Tsubouchi Shōyō advocated new dance drama. In Taishō, Ichikawa Ennosuke II brought knowledge of Russian ballet to the wordless Mushi.
Study groups such as Hagoromo-kai and Tōei-kai then provided settings for experimental choreography.
Nishikawa, Fujima, Bandō, Hanayagi and Wakayagi are among its schools. Alongside fully costumed works, suodori uses simpler presentation. A school name does not identify one standard costume.
No. Its meaning depends on the gesture and dramatic situation.
No. Aoi no Ue also conveys lament and jealousy.
No. Simpler presentation still allows the dance to convey a character or situation.