{"id":2588,"date":"2015-01-21T09:31:29","date_gmt":"2015-01-21T00:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/?p=2588"},"modified":"2015-01-21T11:29:02","modified_gmt":"2015-01-21T02:29:02","slug":"studying-iwami-kagura-in-shimane-by-tetsumi-hanaoka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/posts-by-kodo-members\/20150121_2588.html","title":{"rendered":"“Studying Iwami Kagura<\/span> in Shimane” by Tetsumi Hanaoka"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Iwami Kagura<\/span> in Shimane” by Tetsumi Hanaoka\" data-lang=\"en\">Tweet<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n
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Happy New Year!<\/p>\n

I wish you all the best for the year ahead and thank you in advance for your support.<\/p>\n

So, how did you all spend your New Year’s?<\/p>\n

I went to Yunotsu in Shimane Prefecture to study\u00a0Iwami Kagura<\/span> (Iwami: a region,\u00a0the west part of Shimane Prefecture\/ Kagura: dance and\u00a0music for the kami<\/span>, or deities) with some\u00a0of my fellow Kodo members. Our group, including a couple of new members,\u00a0will perform the serpent dance Orochi<\/span>\u00a0featured in “Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery,” on the\u00a0North American\u00a0Tour that starts on January 28.<\/p>\n

\"20150110_183820\"\"\u77f3\u898b\u795e\u697d\u7a3d\u53e4\"<\/h3>\n

We were taught by Mr. Taizo Kobayashi and other members\u00a0Yunotsu Maiko Renchu<\/span>, a group of local performers that uphold\u00a0Iwami Kagura<\/span>\u00a0in Yunotsu.\u00a0Mr. Kobayashi is one of members who had helped us to create the programme for\u00a0“Mystery,” who is an\u00a0Iwami Kagura<\/span> performer and a craftsman who\u00a0carves masks. Mr. Kobayashi\u00a0made the heads of all the serpents we use on stage\u00a0for our “Mystery” performances.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>\"Photo:<\/a><\/h3>\n

During\u00a0this visit, our lessons were mainly for the new members who will join this programme for the first time. They were taught to make very detailed movements so that the heads and bodies would move smoothly and they learned how to\u00a0move so that the serpents would look\u00a0real on stage. I also learned many new things. I can now see\u00a0that while\u00a0Iwami Kagura<\/span>\u00a0looks simple, it is performed with\u00a0really well-refined movements.<\/p>\n

\"20150111_111259\"
\nDuring\u00a0these rehearsals, one of our\u00a0missions was to take part in the local\u00a0evening Kagura performance as serpents. This is a regular performance for Yunotsu Maiko Renchu,<\/span> which is\u00a0held at the Tatsuno-gozen Shrine every Saturday night. I was also fortunate enough to take part in this performance when I first came to learn Iwami Kagura<\/span>\u00a0here two years ago.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"20150110_183706\"\"20150110_183606\"<\/h3>\n

On\u00a0Saturday\u00a0evening, the shrine was decorated in preparation for the performance and I found it really moving to see\u00a0both the space and atmosphere\u00a0get\u00a0ready\u00a0for Iwami Kagura<\/span>. I caught a glimpse of the relationship between the Iwami locals and the gods at this sacred place, which has close proximity\u00a0to the gods. The people there also feel very close to the gods, while showing\u00a0reverence and respect to them.\u00a0This was the first evening Kagura<\/span>\u00a0performance for\u00a02015, and\u00a0once a special canopy was hung up to welcome the gods, they were ready for the peformance.<\/p>\n

\"1420969805411\"<\/p>\n

This time, as well as performing in the serpent dance Orochi<\/span>, we also joined in to\u00a0play the accompaniment for the\u00a0shio-harai<\/span>\u00a0(salt purification) segment, which\u00a0cleanses\u00a0the performance venue. Mr. Kobayashi danced and we somehow managed to play the music to accompany him, although\u00a0it was extremely\u00a0difficult for us.<\/p>\n

\"1420969784254\"<\/h3>\n

I think that great thing about playing a\u00a0musical accompaniment that you\u00a0have the power to encourage the people who hear the music to dance, move, and sing. Iwami Kagura<\/span> has been passed for several centuries, so the music has developed\u00a0over its long history\u00a0to fascinate the audience and inspire the performers. I hope to become a taiko player who\u00a0makes people feel thrilled and excited in such a way.<\/p>\n

\"1420969847378\"\"1420969877344\"<\/h3>\n

The last piece on the programme was the serpent dance, Orochi<\/span>. The story goes like this: On his travels all over Japan, a god called\u00a0Susano’o <\/span>happens upon grief-stricken parents and their daughter\u00a0by the Ibi River in Izumo, Shimane. Their\u00a0grief is caused by\u00a0a large serpent who comes\u00a0to eat their daughters every year, and now they only have one daughter left. Susano’o<\/span>\u00a0says he will kill the serpent for them, on the condition that he receives their remaining\u00a0daughter’s hand in marriage. And then he successfully\u00a0kills the serpent.<\/p>\n

\"1420969933815\"<\/p>\n

I first performed the role of the serpent in the spring of 2013, and this January\u00a0was\u00a0the second time for me to portray it in Yunotsu. It went so quickly, like the first time, but I felt I did it better than last time by making sure I took care with\u00a0each and every movement and expression. Next time, when I visit\u00a0them again, I hope to do much better.<\/p>\n

\"20150110_192231(0)\"<\/p>\n

Mr. Kobayashi often talks to us during\u00a0the rehearsals, before the performances, and in other interludes.<\/p>\n

He says, “Tetsumi, it takes time to make good things.”<\/p>\n

It certainly does take a lot of time to create\u00a0art and\u00a0performing arts\u00a0that make us say “Wow!,” like\u00a0Iwami Kagura.<\/span>\u00a0That time shows one’s\u00a0desire to make something\u00a0better, through both trial and error and the act of making an effort every day.\u00a0That is why those performances and arts move and fascinate people.<\/p>\n

\"20150111_114154\"<\/p>\n

Also, Mr. Kobayashi always says, “Do something, even something completely ordinary, every single day\u00a0with care<\/span>.”
\nThere are many things that we do every day that we aren’t doing properly, like greeting people, lining up\u00a0our shoes neatly, or being grateful…
\nEveryone is different, so what seems “normal” to one person may be different for someone else.\u00a0But, I think that by doing ordinary things properly, or with care, the repetition of our efforts will show in our performances and make them better. Even if it doesn’t relate to our performance\u00a0directly, the culmination of this effort does become\u00a0very useful. I’m not just a performer, after all, I am a human being.\u00a0So I want to focus on\u00a0my own heart and actions\u00a0as a person, foremost, every day.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a><\/p>\n

Our tour in North America begins next week. I will do my best to share\u00a0Kodo’s performance, Japanese taiko, and traditional Japanese performing arts with\u00a0everyone who comes to see us in Canada and the U.S.A!<\/p>\n

\"tetsumihanaoka_s\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"20150127oet\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery” North American\u00a0Tour<\/h3>\n

Jan. 28\u2013Mar. 29, 2015<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/oet\/index_en.html#schedule13a<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happy New Year! I wish you all the best for the year ahead and thank you in advance for your support. So, how did you all spend your New Year’s? I went to Yunotsu in Shimane Prefecture to study\u00a0Iwami Kagura (Iwami: a region,\u00a0the west part of Shimane Prefecture\/ Kagura: dance and\u00a0music for the kami, or deities) with some\u00a0of my fellow Kodo members. Our group, including a couple of new members,\u00a0will perform the serpent dance Orochi\u00a0featured in “Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery,” on the\u00a0North American\u00a0Tour that starts on January 28. We were taught by Mr. Taizo Kobayashi and other members\u00a0Yunotsu Maiko Renchu, a group of local performers that uphold\u00a0Iwami Kagura\u00a0in … \u25b6\u7d9a\u304d\u3092\u8aad\u3080<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[6,7,36],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2588"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2642,"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588\/revisions\/2642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}