{"id":657,"date":"2014-05-12T09:36:22","date_gmt":"2014-05-12T00:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/?p=657"},"modified":"2014-05-12T09:36:22","modified_gmt":"2014-05-12T00:36:22","slug":"from-amaterasu-to-mystery-part-3-by-journalist-sachiko-tamashige","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/articles-interviews\/20140512_657.html","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFrom ‘Amaterasu’ to ‘Mystery’: Part 3″ by journalist Sachiko Tamashige"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From “Amaterasu” to “Mystery”: Part 3<\/h2>\n

Article by journalist Sachiko Tamashige<\/h3>\n

Iwami Kagura: Feeling the Heat and Beat in Shimane Prefecture<\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yosuke Kusa admires Taizo Kobayashi, his teacher of Iwami Kagura<\/span>\u00a0(Iwami: a region, the west part of Shimane Prefecture\/ Kagura: dance and music for the\u00a0kami<\/span>, or deities): \u201cTaizo looks so cool when he claps his hands to pray for deities in front of the household Shinto altar. Even his everyday routines show his integrity, which is also reflected in his Kagura<\/span> performance. Kagura<\/span> is not just about dancing \u2014 it is also the way a performer lives their life.\u201d Yosuke met Taizo at the Kyoto University of Art and Design when Taizo ran an Iwami Kagura<\/span> workshop. Around ten years ago, he started visiting Taizo in his hometown of Yunotsu, Shimane Prefecture.<\/p>\n

Taizo\u2019s primary job is making masks for Iwami Kagura<\/span>. In September of 2013, two cast members of Jamai<\/span> \u2014 Yosuke and Shogo Komatsuzaki \u2014 spent two weeks at Taizo’s studio to learn the serpent dance, as well as experience life with the local people. Yosuke and Shogo tried to get to the heart of the Kagura<\/span> by visiting local shrines, going for runs in the surrounding nature and exchanging ideas and music techniques through sessions with members of a local group of Iwami Kagura<\/span>. \u201cThe local people live with the deities by practicing rituals to either purify themselves or show their gratitude,\u201d Yosuke added, \u201cIwami Kagura<\/span> is nourished and enlivened by the way the locals live their lives, and it has been handed down from their ancestors to future generations. Iwami Kagura<\/span> is also a way for adults to teach good behavior and adherence to the social code to their children. I would like to learn not only the forms and techniques but also its spirit, which links our lives with our direct experience on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mr. Kobayashi makes masks at the Kobayashi Workshop.
An array of Kagura<\/span> masks await their chance to spring into action.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Shogo had a similar experience. He says: \u201cWhat I have learned here is the significance of prayer. It has been so vital to pray for the intangible \u2014 something beyond a human being\u2019s abilities: praying to the gods of rice for the plentiful harvest and the gods of water to prevent floods or drought. This is the heart of Kagura<\/span>. It is performed in the hope of maintaining food, safety and happiness. I would like to grasp the deeper meanings beyond just dancing techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the Meiji period, government policy revolved around modernization, and Shinto priests were banned from many of their rituals. Therefore, Kagura<\/span> was left to the hands of the general public. In the Iwami region, Kagura<\/span> has been so popular among the local people that they have developed their own elaborate presentation style. Orochi<\/span> is one of the most famous themes of Iwami Kagura<\/span>. In the old days, Orochi<\/span> (\u201cthe Great Serpent Dance\u201d) was performed by one person wearing a simple costume representing a snake. First, a huge tube made of bamboo forms the framework, like a snake skeleton. Then it is covered with the paper used for traditional lanterns, and the body of a giant serpent was introduced. The number of serpents increased and later visual effects such as flickering eyes and smoke were added. The performance of Orochi<\/span> became more and more of a spectacle. At the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, an Orochi<\/span> was performed with eight serpents, and Iwami Kagura<\/span> became widely known, accelerating the level of drama infused into Orochi<\/span> presentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am concerned that people might forget about the origin and essence of Kagura<\/span>,\u201d says Taizo Kobayashi, \u201cIt is a religious ritual dedicated to the deities. Today, some performers are more interested in how to dazzle the audience with spectacle and acrobatics, but if we neglected the traditional forms handed down by former generations and their true connection to the Shinto faith, Kagura<\/span> would lose its meaning.\u201d Taizo is one of the key people upholding authentic Kagura<\/span>, and is a promising young craftsman of Kagura<\/span> masks. He started his career at an early age. When he was an elementary school student, he started visiting the studio of Katsuro Kakita, the leading Kagura<\/span> mask maker, and eventually learned the craft from him. Taizo left his hometown for Kyoto to learn more about mask making. After more than 10 years in Kyoto as both a student and then a staff member of Kyoto University of Art and Design, he came back to Yunotsu with academic knowledge and a wider artistic view. He passionately teaches and organizes Iwami Kagura<\/span> workshops to spark interest and understanding in Kagura<\/span> with younger generations. He is very popular in his hometown \u2014 when he walks the streets, children wave their hands, calling him \u201cTaizo-san.\u201d At a local nursery school, children play Kagura<\/span> more passionately than anything else. When Kagura<\/span> music starts to play, it\u2019s like a switch is flipped in the children\u2019s minds, and they begin dancing madly with paper swords and toy instruments. Most children here are more interested in Kagura<\/span> heroes than the ones from television and cartoons.<\/p>\n

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Preschoolers embody various Kagura<\/span> heroes.<\/p><\/div>\n

At Tatsuno-gozen Jinja, one of Yunotsu\u2019s local shrines, you will find the stages of many Kagura<\/span> troupes from different areas. One evening in September, Tatsunogozen Jinja was packed with locals and visitors from nearby inns. It was a casual night out, with local families strolling to the shrine to see Iwami Kagura<\/span> after supper. Visitors came wearing sandals and yukata<\/span>, a casual cotton kimono worn after bathing in a hot spring. Everyone was relaxed and chatting away, but once the Kagura<\/span> started, everyone was completely engrossed in the performance. Occasionally, demons and giant snakes would emerge onstage and enter the audience, which sent a few children crying or hiding themselves in the arms of their grandmother.<\/p>\n

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Kagura<\/span> performed at night (yokagura<\/span>) to a lively audience of locals
and tourists at Tatsuno-gozen Shrine.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0 \"P1410904\"<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people tend to follow film stars and TV idols nowadays,\u201d Taizo continued, \u201cSome of them might be enchanted by the superficial images created by mass media. But Kagura<\/span> is powerful \u2014 it connects directly with matters of life and death. Frightening demons and giant snakes are sacred beings. They make us aware of the importance of awe, and make us thankful to experience something beyond ourselves. Kagura<\/span> themes deal with fundamental questions, so children are intuitively drawn to them. Without verbal explanation, there is space for children to feel and use their imagination. Therefore, they can be even more attracted by Kagura<\/span>, I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n

In different regions of Shimane Prefecture, many children are brought up with Kagura<\/span> as a part of everyday life. The rhythm of Kagura<\/span> permeates life in Shimane, and is sometimes considered as an impetus for returning to one\u2019s hometown after years in cities like Tokyo and Osaka. Taizo is one of those young people who could not forget the excitement of Kagura<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Yosuke, along with Kodo staff member Erika Ueda, joined one of Taizo\u2019s Kagura<\/span> workshops at an art school in Kyoto. Since then, they continue to exchange ideas and inspire each other. It is crucial for Kodo members to develop close relationships with local folk arts performers and maintain ties with them. Most Kodo members are not necessarily trained from an early age as musicians in traditional fields like Noh or Kabuki. Therefore, Kodo members must inevitably learn different types of dances and music from different regions and then recreate them in their own original version as Kodo.<\/p>\n

An advantage for the Kodo members is that they have a wider view. They experience many different folk-art forms in addition to stage and taiko technique. Through the artist-in-residence experience, they research the history and context of the folk arts with a comprehensive, intellectual approach reminiscent of anthropologists visiting far-flung regions.<\/p>\n

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Mr. Kobayashi teaches the serpent dance Jamai<\/span> to Kodo members at Tatsuno-gozen Shrine in Shimane.
From left: Shogo Komatsuzaki, Yosuke Kusa, and Mr. Taizo Kobayashi<\/p><\/div>\n

On the last day of their time as artists in residence, Yosuke and Shogo presented some of the popular Kodo repertoire to show their gratitude to Taizo and everyone they worked with. Yosuke and Shogo put on a soulful performance, and the audience was deeply moved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Japanese word fudo<\/span> means cultural climate,\u201d says Taizo. \u201cIt is written using the Chinese characters for wind and soil. I think that soil symbolizes something rooted deeply in the region, while wind is like fresh air blowing in from the outside. To me, I believe Iwami Kagura<\/span> is the soil, and Kodo is like the wind. It is so stimulating and rewarding for both sides to learn from each other. This will certainly lead us towards new discoveries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just before leaving Shimane Prefecture, Yosuke and Shogo visited Izumo-taisha with Taizo and Erika. Izumo is regarded as home for the kami<\/span> \u2014 in fact, many believe that all deities come back to Izumo-taisha in the autumn to discuss en<\/span>: the fate of marriages and matchmaking. It is said that one-third of the Kojiki<\/span> (\u201cRecord of Ancient Matters,\u201d the oldest extant manuscript in Japan)\u00a0is about Izumo, and that the legend of Yamata no Orochi<\/span> originated here. The Hiigawa, or the Hii River, which runs through Izumo, frequently flooded the nearby forests, and the giant serpent might have been a metaphor for this dangerous stretch of water. When Yosuke and Shogo went down to see the bridge over the Hiigawa, it was a gloomy, rainy day, permeated by the eerie sound of the wind. Where the riverbed showed, the wind had carved scale-like patterns in the sand, not unlike the skin of a snake. Upon seeing this, Yosuke and Shogo looked at each other and shouted \u201cOrochi<\/span> is here!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Also read From \u201cAmaterasu\u201d to \u201cMystery\u201d: Part 1\u00a0– Guided by the mysterious power of the Serpent<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Part 2 –\u00a0Behind the Scenes of \u201cMystery\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Sachiko Tamashige, Journalist<\/span><\/h4>\n
Studied social psychology and\u00a0journalism at Waseda University,\u00a0art history at Sotherby\u2019s and film\u00a0anthropology at Goldsmith College in\u00a0London. Worked for NHK, BBC, and\u00a0Channel 4 etc. between 1990 and 2001\u00a0in London. Writing for newspapers\u00a0such as Japan Times, newspaper weekly\u00a0magazines such as AERA, monthly\u00a0magazines such as Blue Prints, etc.\u00a0specializing in contemporary art,\u00a0architecture, design and Japanese\u00a0traditional culture.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From “Amaterasu” to “Mystery”: Part 3 Article by journalist Sachiko Tamashige Iwami Kagura: Feeling the Heat and Beat in Shimane Prefecture   Yosuke Kusa admires Taizo Kobayashi, his teacher of Iwami Kagura\u00a0(Iwami: a region, the west part of Shimane Prefecture\/ Kagura: dance and music for the\u00a0kami, or deities): \u201cTaizo looks so cool when he claps his hands to pray for deities in front of the household Shinto altar. Even his everyday routines show his integrity, which is also reflected in his Kagura performance. Kagura is not just about dancing \u2014 it is also the way a performer lives their life.\u201d Yosuke met Taizo at the Kyoto University of Art and … \u25b6\u7d9a\u304d\u3092\u8aad\u3080<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[67,6,7,86,64],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":672,"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657\/revisions\/672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}