15

The Structure of Iwami Kagura’s Existence inWestern Shimane Prefecture1
Y AMAMOTO K ENTA

Keywords: traditional performing arts (dentō geinō 伝統芸能), transmissionof culture (bunka keishō 文化継承), community (kyōdōtai 共同体), existence
structure (sonritsu kōzō 存立構造)
Author's Statement
This paper shows how Iwami kagura, a traditional performing art of the
Iwami region of Japan’s Shimane Prefecture, is being passed down. I hope that
this paper will provide useful insights for the future of traditional performing
arts throughout the world.

1. Introduction
1.1 The Issue at Hand

W

ith Japan’s population growing smaller and aging, local traditional
performing arts’ preservation and transmission has emerged as an urgent
issue. A body of scholarship is taking shape that seeks clues for solutions byfocusing on these performing arts’ socio-economic aspects. Such research covers topics
including their utilization as tourism resources and concomitant conflicts between actors.
For example, Hasebe and Ōmura have published on the diversification of spectators andperformers’ previously-shared feelings and norms due to these performing arts’ treatment
as tourism products in the context of economic activities,2 and Satō, Watabe, and Takasaki
have written about school education and local communities becoming transmission sitesof these performing arts.3 I have reported on their use as school educational materials forThis article is a translation of Yamamoto Kenta 山本健太, “Shimane-ken seibu chiiki ni okeru Iwami kagura nosonritsu kōzō” 島根県西部地域における石見神楽の存立構造, Kokugakuin Daigaku kiyō 國學院大學紀要 59(2021): 29–49. Translated by Dylan Luers Toda.
2
Hasebe and Ōmura, “Dentō geinō no keishō o tōshite”
3
Satō and Watabe, “Chō dejitaru jidai ni okeru minzoku geinō no keishō”; Takasaki, “Kyōiku jissen hōkoku . . .
zenpen”; Takazaki, “Kyōiku jissen hōkoku . . . kōhen”
1

Kokugakuin Japan Studies, volume 3, 2022, pp. 15–38© 2022 Kokugakuin University

16

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

cultivating hometown affection,4 and Kumagai and Inoue have discussed younger people,
women, and non-residents beginning to be allowed to participate as local populations
decrease in size and grow older.5 Also, I and others have documented performers seeing
these performing arts as local resources and pushing firmly forward with their utilization
for community maintenance and tourism.6
Scholars have also pointed out that in local communities where traditional performing
arts had become untenable due to the likes of large-scale disasters, their social roles change
in the process of recovery and exert a large influence on the identities of community
members. Mogi focuses on the case of Unosumi Jinja 鵜住神社, a shrine in the Unosumai
district of Iwate Prefecture’s city of Kamaishi. This district experienced severe damage
due to the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.7 He points out that after thisdisaster, the tiger dance (toramai 虎舞), a traditional performing art passed down in thisarea, changed from a dance celebrating a bountiful year of harvest to one for the reposeof departed souls, as well as that this dance is functioning as a mooring for the hearts
and minds of survivors. Also, Tsutsui looks at the case of Hatsuuma Matsuri 初午祭 on
Miyake Island and the Ako district youth group carrying this festival on after the island’sforced evacuation due to volcanic eruption.8 While two past volcanic eruptions led to alack of performers and difficulty holding these rites, this was overcome by strengthening
collaboration between people with geographical or professional ties. The lion dance(shishimai 獅子舞) that is offered at the festival had been a solemn Shinto ritual carriedout in a traditional Japanese-style house. However, dancer discretion came to be tolerated,and dances started being held in larger settings that were not necessarily houses and took
on highly entertaining aspects.
When working to understand such diverse ways in which traditional performing arts
are being passed down in various areas, I have argued that the roles communities assign
to traditional performing arts—in more concrete terms, whether they can use them as
tourism resources or tools for cultivating hometown affection—is dependent on available
channels.9 In other words, it is not when communities face local issues that traditional
performing arts’ usage methods are decided. Rather, these usage methods are chosen outof a set of options that are limited by the area’s history. Whether people will use theirtraditional performing art as a tourism resource or as a tool for community maintenanceis prescribed by local contexts: the area’s status as a tourist destination, it having become
4

Yamamoto, “Traditional Performing Arts.”
Traditional performing arts have normally been limited to local men. Kumagai, “Akita-ken no minzoku geinō”;
Inoue, “Sankanchi no dentō bunka keishō.”
6
Yamamoto, Wada, and Mera, “Kagura no gendaiteki jōkyō”; Wada and Yamamoto, “Hiroshima Kagura.”
7
Mogi, “Yanagita Kunio no mita tsunami kuyōe.”
8
Tsutsui, “Shizen saigai to kyōzon suru sairei.”
9
Yamamoto, “Traditional Performing Arts as a Regional Resource.”
5

Yamamoto: The Structure of Iwami Kagura’s Existence in Western Simane Prefecture 17
necessary for residents to possess shared feelings when encountering events such as
municipal mergers, local coordinators having been actively involved in the transmissionof the traditional performing art, and so on. For this reason, to show how a certain
traditional performing art is being passed down and maintained in an area, it is necessary
to make clear the activities of local actors involved in such work as well as the interplay
between them.
Taking into account recent discussions on the transmission of local traditional
performing arts, this paper aims to make clear the existence structure of the Iwami kagura
passed down in the Iwami region of Shimane Prefecture. In Shimane, municipalities’
tourism and industry divisions as well as tourism associations broadcast information
regarding kagura dance and serve as kagura groups’ contact points with the local
community. Also, Iwami kagura is actively used as a tourism resource by the prefecture
and municipalities. New kagura groups have even appeared.10 I hope that elucidating
the structures by which kagura survives in this area will also shed light on the traditional
performing arts that other communities are having problems maintaining and passing
down due to dwindling and aging populations.

1.2 The Structure of this Paper
This paper is structured as follows. In the first section, I will analyze the activities ofkagura groups based on the results of a questionnaire survey. Then, I will present thesegroups’ operations, highlighting their dance performances and finances. I will also cover
the views of these groups’ representatives regarding carrying on kagura dance. In thesecond section, I will turn to groups that give Iwami kagura its distinctive characteristics
and discuss the operations of Iwami kagura groups that I made clear in the first section.
Finally, in the third section, I will summarize this paper and present the structure bywhich Iwami kagura is utilized as a local resource and continues to exist.

2. Kagura Groups’ Operations
2.1 Iwami Kagura: Overview
There are various theories regarding the transmission channels of Iwami kagura. For
example, Yamaji states that the name “Iwami kagura” may have come into use after
entering the modern period and touches on this kagura’s diversity.11 When doing so,
he argues that it can be divided into four types based on geographical area: Ōchi 邑
In this region, the names of individual kagura groups take forms such as “XX shachū 社中 [troupe]” and “XXkaguradan 神楽団 [kagura group]”. In this paper, “kagura groups” refers to all such groups. For respondents’ ease ofunderstanding, I used the expression shachū in the questionnaire.
11
Yamaji, “Iwami kagura o himotoku.”
10

18

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

智, Sekiō 石央, Sekisei 石西, and Sekitō 石東. He says that with the history of Sekitō

and neighboring areas’ kagura being shallow and this kagura exhibiting the influence ofkagura from outside traditional regional boundaries, it has been treated as separate from
Iwami kagura. Also, Yamaji notes that the Sekitō type was transmitted by mountainascetics called shugen yamabushi 修験山伏 from the late middle ages onwards, and sees thedifferences in way of dancing between these areas as having arisen after villagers came totransmit kagura in the Meiji period (1868–1912) and later.
Ishizuka broadly distinguishes between Iwami kagura dancing methods: roku chōshi
12
六調子, hachi chōshi 八調子, and sekisei, which is different from the two others. Whileroku chōshi has short lyrics and many slang words, it has an elegant atmosphere thanks
to its slow tempo. On the other hand, hachi chōshi was developed from the Meiji period
onwards. In this process slang lyrics were changed to classical expressions and it became
a lively dance with a fast tempo. Sekisei has connections with dances of the neighboring
Nagato region in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and is different from both roku chōshi and hachichōshi.13
In this way, while kagura passed down in the Iwami region have different transmission
channels, one also finds region-wide activities that transcend such differences. One
example is the Iwami Kagura Wide-Area Liaison Council (Iwami Kagura Kōiki Renraku
Kyōgikai 石見神楽広域連絡協議会; below, Liaison Council) that was founded in 2013by Iwami kagura groups and municipalities. Presently (2018), the Liaison Council
is a federation consisting of nine Iwami area cities/towns, ten councils from thosemunicipalities,14 and 111 groups (ninety that belong to the councils and twenty-one that
do not). The Liaison Council aims to promote Iwami kagura by sharing information
between its member groups and bringing together people’s opinions. It holds monthly
board meetings and a yearly general convention. At these, information exchange between
kagura groups and consolidation of opinions takes place. Inquiries and requests sent
through government administration or tourism promotion associations are either
directly shared with kagura groups or given to them via the councils. Groups are chosen
depending on the size and scope of the matter at hand.

12

Ishizuka, Nishi Nihon sho kagura no kenkyū, pp. 21–22.
Ishizuka, Nishi Nihon sho kagura no kenkyū.
14
The nine municipalities (cities/towns) and ten councils are as follows: Hamada City (Hamada Iwami Kagura
Shachū Renraku Kyōgikai 浜田石見神楽社中連絡協議会, Kanagichō Iwami Kagura Shachū Renraku Kyōgikai
金城町石見神楽社中連絡協議会, Asahichō Iwami Kagura Hozonkai 旭町石見神楽保存会, Yasakachō Iwami
Kagura Shachū Renraku Kyōgikai 弥栄町石見神楽社中連絡協議会, Misumichō Iwami Kagura Shachū Kyōgikai
三隅町石見神楽社中協議会), Masuda City (Masudashi Iwami Kagura Shinwakai 益田市石見神楽神和会), ŌdaCity (Iwami Ginzan Kagura Renmei 石見銀山神楽連盟), Gōtsu City (Gōtsushi Iwami Kagura Renraku Kyōgikai
江津市石見神楽連絡協議会), Kawamoto Town, Misato Town, Ōnan Town (Ōnanchō Kagura Renraku Kyōgikai(邑南町神楽連絡協議会), Tsuwano Town (Tsuwanochō Jinshōkai 津和野町神星会), and Yoshika Town.
13

Yamamoto: The Structure of Iwami Kagura’s Existence in Western Simane Prefecture 19
2.2 Overview of Groups that Responded to the Questionnaire
Figure 1 shows the distribution of the addresses Liaison Council groups.15 We can seethat they are found throughout the entire Iwami region. Distribution density varies. The
greatest number of groups are located in Hamada City, which has the largest populationin the Iwami region.
In October 2017, I sent a questionnaire to all 111 groups that belong to the Liaison
Council, and received replies from thirty-six of them. A group that left the liaisoncouncil immediately before I distributed the questionnaire was also included in thequestionnaire distribution list. I received a reply from them. Therefore, I will analyze
responses from thirty-seven groups, including this one (Table 1). When creating and

Fig 1. Distribution of Surveyed Groups
Note: The numbers in the above figures are group IDs (see section two). These IDs are the same as Table 1.
Source: Created based on materials provided by Iwami Kagura Wide-Area Liaison Council.

15Groups’ contact information often list a representative’s home address or other similar information. Therefore, toprotect privacy, I have used these addresses up through the aza 字 division for the groups’ locations and left out blocknumbers (banchi 番地). Therefore, the map’s locations might be slightly different than the groups’ actual locations.

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

20

Table 1. Overview of Groups that Responded to the Questionnaire

ID

Location(Municipality)

1

Hamada City

2

Hamada City

3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Hamada City
Hamada City
Hamada City
Ōda City
Masuda City
Tsuwano Town
Hamada City
Hamada City
Hamada CityŌnan Town
Hamada City
Hamada City
Hamada City
Hamada City
Ōda City
Hamada City
Masuda City
Hamada City

21

Hamada City

22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37

Ōnan Town
Hamada City
Hamada City
Tsuwano Town
Ōda CityŌnan Town
Masuda City
Tsuwano Town
Masuda City
Gōtsu City
Masuda City
Hamada City
Gōtsu City
Hamada City
Hamada City
Hamada City

Year Established1667
End of Edo Period(1603–1868)
End of Edo Period
1830
1861
1864
1867
Beginning of Meiji period
Beginning of Meiji period
Beginning of Meiji period
Beginning of Meiji period
1877
1877
1877
1887
1887
1897
1897
1907
1907
Taishō period(1912-1926)
Taishō period
1927
1945
1947
1954
1963
1964
1968
1970
1972
1973
1985
1990
1998
1999
2011

Note: Blank cells indicate no response.
Source: Created based on questionnaire survey.

2016 FY
IncomeExpenditures(In tens of (In tens of
thousands thousandsof yen)of yen)220
320

Representative’s
Age

No. ofMembers

62

23

70

15

367

192

66
55
63
60
58
66
66
45
30
64
58
56
71
48
77
58
73
57

17
20
19
40
26
14
22
22
22
17
14
17
41
19
21
15
20
18

253
360
123
457
326

241
260
42
296
326

55
102.3
160
6
28
325
300

37
102.3
80
3
20
312
280

25
100
269
40

25
80
217
40

70

24

68
49
70
76
75
39
38
82
46
61
69
54
55
35
73
26

15
20
15
21
33
18
28
20
20
15
16
40
25
16
24
14

10
60
180
347
275
150

10
40
168
230
190
140

124
200
45
267

124
120
38
203

91.5

83.8

Yamamoto: The Structure of Iwami Kagura’s Existence in Western Simane Prefecture 21
distributing the questionnaire, I followed the procedures described in the following
paragraph, acquiring the full understanding of survey subjects. The questionnaire covered
income and expenditures as well as the residential histories of each member, and some
representatives probably did not wish or have the knowledge to answer such questions.
With the response rate for the questionnaire being approximately 32.1%, the results do
not necessarily provide an overall picture. We must keep in mind that this paper only
provides a partial image of the kagura groups in the Iwami region. However, with there
being no sets of data regarding the operations of these groups, the results of this survey
are rare, and, therefore, I will offer an analysis insofar as possible and by doing so leave arecord of the situation at present.
I created the questionnaire after receiving advice from the Liaison Council, people
involved in Kagura-related work from the prefectural government, and members ofkagura groups. The questionnaire stated at its beginning that its purpose is to make clear
how kagura is being carried on and used as a local resource in communities. It consistedof questions on (1) the group’s operations (such as year of establishment and income/expenditures breakdown), (2) the group’s members (such as number of members, age
distribution, and residential history), (3) how the kagura is carried out (such as the form,days of performances, etc. of offertorial kagura and publicly performed kagura), and(4) the group representative’s views regarding carrying on kagura. When it came time
to distribute the questionnaire, first the Liaison Council provided an explanation to its
groups, and then the questionnaire was sent, along with a return envelope, to an office in
the Shimane prefectural government that deals with kagura-related matters.
Also, from September to October 2018, I attempted to carry out an interview surveyof ten groups from which unclear answers were received and/or that demonstrated
distinguishing characteristics in their responses. Nine of these groups agreed toparticipate. As necessary, I will also touch on the information acquired in this interview
survey in my analysis below.
Generally speaking, up through the Edo period kagura was an authority mechanismof local religious professionals. Upon entering the Meiji period, the government banned
dance performances and the like by Shinto priests. For this and other reasons, local shrine
parishioners took over. Looking at the years of kagura groups’ establishment in Table 1,
we can see that the majority were founded in the Meiji period and later, with the greatest
number of them being founded at the beginning of the Meiji period. Around this timein Iwami and other areas, shrine parishioners took the lead in establishing many kaguragroups. This was probably due to groups of shrine parishioners taking on kagura after
the government’s ban on Shinto priest’s dance performances made it difficult for the
Shinto priest families (shake 社家) to do so. We do not find any groups established at the
beginning of the Shōwa period (1926–1989). This was the time of World War II, and it

22

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

was probably difficult to establish kagura groups under a wartime regime. There are also
some younger groups that were created more recently (1999, 2011, etc.).16

2.3 Groups’ Compositions
There is a total of 751 members in the groups that replied to the questionnaire. Thisaverages out to 21.3 people per group. 661 (86.2%) are males, and 106 (13.9%) females.
Table 2 shows the age and gender distributions of members in groups that replied
to the questionnaire, as well as that of the population in the Iwami region according
to the 2015 national census. The largest male age subset in responding groups is thirty
to thirty-nine years old, followed by under eighteen, forty to forty-nine, and twentythree to twenty-nine. The largest female age subset is eighteen and under, which isfollowed by thirty to thirty-nine, forty to forty-nine, and twenty-three to twenty-nine.
The percentage of young men between twenty-three and forty-nine years old greatly
surpasses their percentage of the Iwami region’s overall population. One of the reasons forthis high percentage of men is that traditionally kagura has been passed down by adultmen. In recent years, the number of groups that permit females and children to dance isincreasing. This is due to aging populations, amongst other reasons. Another reason forthe high percentage of men is that heads of households, also usually men, are the groups’
members.
Some of the responding groups have a children’s kagura division, and in more than a
few of these groups, male heads of households and their children are joining. Also, someof the responding groups primarily consist of child members. For this reason, there aremany people in their thirties (of parenting age and probably with children), as well as
members who are under eighteen (presumably their children). Nineteen to twenty-two
year-olds make up the smallest age subset for both males and females. This is a reflectionof many people of this age having to leave home for schooling (university, etc.) or
employment.17 However, the percentage of people this age in responding groups is higher
than their percentage in the general Iwami population.
After the Meiji government banned dance performances by Shinto priests, kagura
16

In Ishizuka’s “Nishi Nihon sho kagura no kenkyū” from 1979, we find approximately two hundred groups (p. 15).
Currently, 111 groups belong to the Liaison Council. If we assume that the majority groups in existence belong to it,
this means that over the course of about thirty-five years roughly forty percent of groups have ceased to exist or havebeen combined with another group.
17
In the free response section, one respondent who had been involved in kagura up through high school wrote thatthey were concerned that they may have to leave their hometown some years in the future to attend university andbegin working. There are only three universities/junior colleges in Shimane Prefecture: Shimane University andUniversity of Shimane Junior College in the city of Matsue and University of Shimane in the City of Hamada.
Realistically speaking, when people from the Iwami region want to attend an institution of higher education, while
those living near the city of Hamada can commute from their house to the University of Shimane, others end up
living apart from their parents.

Yamamoto: The Structure of Iwami Kagura’s Existence in Western Simane Prefecture 23
began to be offered to kami by parishioners instead. Partially due to this, many kaguragroups emerged out of tutelary shrine parishioners. Asking about the residential historyof groups’ members, I found that 413 of these groups’ 786 members (52.5%) have lived
in the district of their kagura (the area of their tutelary shrine) since birth. Adding theseventy-seven people who moved away and then came back (9.8%), a total of 62.3% ofmembers in responding groups live in their kagura’s district. A total of 83 people (10.6%)
moved from outside their kagura’s district. This means that over seventy percent of people
live in their kagura’s district.
Table 2. Age and Gender Composition of Responding Groups’ Members and the Iwami Region’s Population

Responding

Age

0-18

19-22

23-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

60-69

70-

Unknown

Total
by
Gender

Male

119
15.5%

48
6.3%

85
11.1%

121
15.8%

94
12.3%

70
9.1%

73
9.5%

51
6.6%

—

661
86.2%

Female

37
4.8%

6
0.8%

16
2.1%

19
2.5%

16
2.1%

11
1.4%

0
0.0%

1
0.1%

—

106
13.8%

Male

15,300
7.7%

2,267
1.1%

5,217
2.6%

10,0195.0%

11,004
5.5%

12,425
6.2%

17,326
8.7%

20,612
10.4%

600
0.3%

94,77047.6%

Female14,222
7.1%

1,947
1.0%

4,540
2.3%

9,286
4.7%

10,385 12,171 17,099 34,162
5.2%
6.1%
8.6% 17.2%

345
0.2%

104,157
52.4%

Groups’Members

Iwami
RegionTotal

767

198,927

Note: The bottom figures in the “Total by Gender” column’s cells are percentages of total members. Percentage
decimals have been rounded down to the nearest tenth and therefore may not total one hundred.
Source: Created based on questionnaire responses and the 2015 National Census of Japan.

143 members (18.2%) are not from the kagura’s district and currently live outside it.
There are a few groups for which the majority of members are such. The meaning androle of kagura for members, as well as their feelings regarding kagura, may differ between
these groups, groups comprised of people from the kagura’s district, and groups with ahigh percentage of transplants.

2.4 Dance Performances
Opportunities for kagura groups to dance include offerings to tutelary shrines andpublic joint (competitive) performances. Therefore, in this section, I will present thecharacteristics of offertorial kagura and public performances that are apparent from thequestionnaire’s results.

2.4.1 Offertorial Kagura
Offertorial kagura is kagura offered to kami enshrined in tutelary shrines. The purposeof such kagura includes praying to these kami for a bountiful harvest, or expressing

24

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

gratitude or reporting something to them. Kagura’s repertoires and forms differ dependingon the area, and the amount of time required to execute such kagura varies. For example,
in the case of night kagura, the first piece begins in the evening and ends sometime in thenext morning. Night kagura performers spend the whole night dancing, and therefore
their mental and physical burden is considerable. For this reason, with the number ofdancers decreasing and society aging, in some cases offertorial kagura is held every otheror every few years, the number of pieces is reduced and kagura is finished during thenight, kagura is only performed for some hours during the day, and so on. Also, in thecase of shrines that hold festivals in specific years, sometimes kagura is only offered during
those years.
So that we can see when offertorial kagura is carried out, in Table 3 I have shown thenumber of offerings by form and week of the year. Asking groups about the days andtimes of offertorial kagura, thirty-one of the thirty-seven groups replied that they carriedout offertorial kagura once or more in 2017. Two of these groups said that 2017 was theyear of a large festival held once every four years. One of the groups that did not offer
kagura in 2017 had done so eight times in 2016. The average number of times the groups
that offered kagura in 2017 did so is 4.9. While a very small number of these groups
offered kagura in April and July, groups primarily did so from late September to lateNovember, especially mid-October (week no. 41, total of twenty-one offerings). In thisway, these offerings have a strongly seasonal nature. Approximately sixty percent of the
kagura offerings (sixty-two) took the form of half-night kagura. When offering kagura,people from outside the district sometimes participate, and residents or shrines in other
districts may request for such offerings to be held. As previously described, this is partially
due to the decreasing and aging population.
Table 3. Offertorial Kagura: Weeks Held
Week Number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Day Kagura
1
1
1
Half-Night Kagura
1 1
3
1
Night Kagura
Total
1
1
1 1
3
1
1
Week Number
28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 Total
Day Kagura
1
1 4 2
2 2 2 1
2
20
Half-Night Kagura 2 2 3 21
1 2 8 13 5 4 6 1 1 4
1 62
Night Kagura
1 2 4 2 4 6 1 2
1
23
Total
2 2 3 21
1 1 3 11 21 9 8 14 4 5 5
3
1 105
Source: Created based on questionnaire survey.

Yamamoto: The Structure of Iwami Kagura’s Existence in Western Simane Prefecture 25
2.4.2 Public Performances
Responding groups publicly performed kagura an average of twelve times per year.
These performances were either “held by the group or with another group,” “part of aregularly-held public performance,” a “joint (competitive) public performance,” or “other:done at the request of a person, organization, etc.” The most common form of public
performance was the latter. Responding groups put on such performances a total of 248
times. This was followed by appearances in regularly-held public performances (101) andjoint (competitive) public performances (68).
“Regularly-held public performances” refer to public performances that periodicallytake place on permanent stages at the likes of roadside stations selling local goods (michino eki 道の駅) and other venues. Often groups in a district will take turns performing
on such stages. “Joint (competitive) public performances” refer to guest appearances at
events held by other groups. Hiroshima Prefecture, which neighbors the Iwami region,
is notable for the frequency of its kagura performance competitions.18 In Iwami as well,
joint (competitive) performances are often held.
“Other: done at the request of a person, organization, etc.,” groups’ most frequent typeof public performance, include guest appearances at events inside and outside the local
community, such as at nursing homes and shopping mall events.
These public performance requests might come directly from other kagura groups ormembers. In other cases, people might see information on the internet and then sendrequests through cities or towns’ tourism associations or the contact points of prefecturalor local governments. Tourism associations and these contact points introduce kaguragroups based on the content of the request and kagura groups’ schedules. If the requester
does not have any particular preferences regarding the group, kagura’s content, and so on,these contact points introduce groups from the lists of groups they have at hand.

2.5 Income and Expenditures
2.5.1 Income
Responding groups’ had a total of 52,658,000 yen of income in the 2016 financial year,
an average of 1,816,000 yen per group. Expenditures totaled 42,201,000 yen, an averageof 1,455,000 per group. Based on these figures, the total income and expenditures for
Liaison Council groups come out to 153,817,000 yen and 123,271,000 yen, respectively.
The questionnaire also asked about income breakdown. The greatest source of income
was “offertorial kagura” (avg. 32.5%). This was followed by “other public performances”(26.6%), “donations” (ohana 御花; 23.8%) and “balances carried forward from the18

Yamamoto, Wada, and Mera, “Kagura no gendaiteki jōkyō”; Wada and Yamamoto, “Hiroshima Kagura.”

26

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

previous financial year” (23.8%). As previously described, offertorial kagura refers to
Shinto rituals of offering kagura to tutelary and other deities. In response to a requestfrom a local shrine with connections to the kagura group, or from a shrine outside thearea, the kagura group offers its dance. Some groups exist precisely to offer kagura to local
shrines such as those that enshrine tutelary deities, and in such cases they do so at nocost. Generally, offerings to other shrines, whether inside or outside the kagura’s district,involve paying some small amount of money for the trip. This amount of money generally
charged changes depending on whether the requester is inside or outside the district.
Responding groups charge between 0 to 200,000 yen for offerings to shrines inside theirdistricts (avg. 85,000 yen) and between 40,000 and 250,000 yen for shrines outside the
district (avg. 109,000 yen).
As previously described, the kagura groups participate in some sort of public
performance an average of twelve times per year. The greatest number of such
performances fall into the category of “other public performances.” The average percent
of total yearly income provided by such performances is the highest after kagura offerings.
In this way, public performances, particularly guest appearances at outsiders’ request,
are an important source of income. Fees for public performances were as follows: 0 to
150,000 yen (avg. 49,000) for in-district, 20,000 to 200,000 yen for elsewhere in the
Iwami region (avg. 76,000 yen), 30,000 to 300,000 yen for the neighboring Izumo
region (avg. 132,000 yen), 30,000 to 300,000 for the neighboring Hiroshima Prefecture(avg. 178,000 yen), and 30,000 to 1,000,000 yen for the Greater Tokyo Area (avg.
627,000 thousand yen). While trip expenses greatly differ depending on the distance tothe performance site, members’ schedules, and so on, we can see that they increase thefarther away the destination.
One group responded that they did not charge for in-district public performances.
This group only performs in its district and the Iwami region. Also, the group thatcharges the least in each out-of-district performance category (Iwami region - 20,000
yen, Izumo region- 30,000 yen, Hiroshima Prefecture - 30,000 yen, Greater Tokyo Area 30,000 yen) does kagura as part of the activities of a children’s group. Its yearly operations
expenses were the sixth lowest out of all responding groups.
Donations are given by audience members to the reception desk at performances,by audience members or organizers directly to dancers in the stage wings, and so on.
They are often money. While the donation amount is not set, these donations play animportant role as implements in a kagura piece called “Sea Bream Fishing” (Tai tsuri 鯛
釣り; also referred to as “Ebisu” 恵比寿 and other names depending on the area), and areoften bills.19 According to my interview survey, while groups cannot know how much in
19

A clip is attached to the end of a fishing line that hangs off the stage from the fishing rod of a dancer dressed as Ebisu,

Yamamoto: The Structure of Iwami Kagura’s Existence in Western Simane Prefecture 27
donations they will receive, these donations serve as a not-insignificant source of income.
Donation amounts not only depend on the number of audience members but also
whether audience members are aware of the custom of presenting donations.

2.5.2 Expenditures“Costume and implement repairs/replacement expenses” make up 43.1% of
expenditures on average. This is followed by “money carried over to the following financialyear” (21.6%), “deposits” (23.6%), “other (19.3%), and “transportation expenses”(15.0%). Iwami kagura uses wadded costumes with gold thread and lame, as well as aorochi 大蛇 (mythological serpent) body costume made from bamboo and Japanese paper.
Some forms of Iwami kagura have highly entertaining aspects, such as stage smoke andfireworks, as well as intense music and dance referred to as hachi chōshi.20 While costumes
are made to withstand dancing, they still must be repaired yearly and replaced once every
few years. It is not rare for one costume to cost hundreds of thousands of yen to replace.21
For this reason, money is saved for future repairs/replacement in by carrying it over to thenext financial year or by making deposits into a reserve fund.
“Transportation costs” refer to the money used to transport members, costumes, andstage props to the likes of public performances. It is not rare for a set of Iwami kagura
costumes to weigh nearly twenty kilograms and take up multiple clothing cases. Space isrequired for storing and transporting these costumes. To perform multiple kagura pieces,at least around ten people are required, although the number depends on the specificpieces in question. This includes the dancers on stage, as well as musical performers andthe dancers preparing for the next piece. Transportation occupies a great percentage ofexpenditures. This shows just how hard it is to travel with these costumes.
Also, kagura practice requires a space larger than the area where it is offered (where
the kami is enshrined, or shinza 神座). However, on average “facility management costs”
related to costume/equipment storage and practice space occupy 9.4% of expenses—not avery high figure. This category is expenses for group-owned facilities and leased properties,
and audience members themselves or another dancer below the stage place cash in the clip. The dancer below thestage holds onto the fishing line to which the money is attached. The Ebisu on the stage pulls up the fish rod but it
bends due to the line being held down, making it seem like he has made a big catch. The Ebisu shows surprise at the
cash he has caught and carefully puts it away (in, for example, a basket used for carrying fish). Either after or before
donations are made in this way, Ebisu also tries to make an even bigger fish catch by throwing small packets of candyor bean snacks (“bait”) out into the audience.
20
Generally speaking, there are two types of Iwami kagura dances: slower-tempo ones called roku chōshi thatare older, and faster-tempo ones called hachi chōshi that were developed in the Meiji period or later. The gentle
movements of roku chōshi give off a dignified impression and are preferred for offertorial kagura, and hachi chōshi ispopular amongst the younger generation and tourists due to its rhythmical nature.
21
For example, it costs over 150,000 yen to make a new orochi costume body and 250,000 yen for the orochi costume
head.

28

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

and this low percentage shows that not many groups own real estate or rent real-estate forthe long term.
The category “other” probably includes a wide variety of expenses, a considerable
portion of which are clothing storage and practice facility expenses. According to myinterview survey, sometimes individual group members will hold onto articles of clothingthat are easy to store (kimono undergarments called juban 襦袢, white robes called hakui白衣), while the group will see to the storage of kimonos, orochi body costumes, and so on.
The latter items are sometimes stored in storehouses or sheds at members’ homes and inother cases at public community spaces, such as community centers or shrine sanctuaries.
Such public spaces are also used for practice. In some cases, community members can use
such spaces at no cost, but a small amount of money is collected for facility maintenancein other cases.

2.6 Views of Kagura Group Representatives
In the questionnaire, group representatives rated statements about kagura skills, theintroduction and altering of kagura pieces, and the use of kagura for tourism. They
used a scale of four to one: (4) “very good,” (3) “good,” (2) “not so good,” and (1) “notgood at all.” The average rating was 2.5 or lower for the following questions related tothe introduction of kagura pieces and designs: “incorporating new pieces from othershrines or areas” (2.1), “incorporating costumes with new designs from other shrines
or areas” (2.4), “incorporating new stage props or equipment from other kagura groups
or areas” (2.5). Compared to the questionnaire’s other statements, representatives felt
more negatively about these. Ratings for the following items related to piece designand development averaged between 2.5 to 3.0 (“good”): “independently developing
new kagura pieces,” “independently developing costumes with new designs” (3.0), and“independently development new stage props” (2.9). We can see that kagura groups havea variety of opinions regarding these.
On the other hand, ratings were positive for the following items related to sharing
kagura dance with the public: “taking videos of dances” (3.5), “releasing dance videos on
the internet” (3.1), “holding joint (competitive) performances with other groups” (3.2),
and “our group holding public performances on its own” (3.1). Average ratings exceeded
3.0. The high rating of “taking videos of dances” was topped only by the viewing of
kagura by tourists (discussed below). Some kagura groups were formed to revive kagurathat had died out, and others have many participants from outside the kagura’s district.
The groups are probably the ones that see creating video records as important.
The ratings for “tourists viewing offertorial kagura” (3.5) and “using kagura as a
tourism resource” (3.3) both exceeded 3.0. In contrast, the following items related to theestablishment of facilities for tourists were less than 3.0: “installing a kagura stage or a

Yamamoto: The Structure of Iwami Kagura’s Existence in Western Simane Prefecture 29
kagura hall stage for tourists in the district” (2.8), “establishing a kagura stage or a kagura
hall stage for tourists in the city/town,” (2.9), and “establishing a kagura stage or a kagura
hall stage for tourists in the Iwami region” (2.9). While no one said that tourists viewing
offertorial kagura or kagura’s use as a tourism resource are “not good at all,” approximately
ten percent said that the establishment of facilities (in district - three representatives, incity/town - four representatives, in Iwami area - three representatives) is “not good at all.”
While many representatives did see the establishment of facilities as positive to a degree,
we can tell that there are various opinions. In my interview survey, a group representativethat thought highly of facility establishment remarked that with a limited number ofplaces where tourists can enjoy themselves at night, such a facility would serve as a placeof entertainment for visitors. On the other hand, group representatives that did not thinkhighly of facility establishment said that there is already a community center and stage
that could be used, as well as that it would be preferable if people viewed the regularpublic performances already held at their shrine, which have a pleasant atmosphere, rather
than performances on a stage. Another person said that things are fine as they are andthat an increase in stages and the burden on dancers might be untenable. Respondents’
differences in opinion also might reflect the number of tourists that visit their area. For
example, some respondents in urban places with comparatively many tourists said they
desire the installation of a permanent kagura stage, while some people from mountainousand other areas with few tourists were skeptical.
Respondents rated “tourists viewing offertorial kagura” the most positively. In the freeresponse section, someone wrote the following:
Rather than stage kagura, I would like for them to take in Iwami kagura byexperiencing [these] Shinto rituals at the shrine and other sacred places, likethe manner of viewing offertory kagura, like night kagura. In recent years in
the countryside, there have been many fall festivals unable to put on kagura. I
think it would be good if it also served to invigorate for [the] precious shrine’s
continued existence.22

This response straightforwardly shows that the respondent understands offertorial
kagura at a shrine as the true form of Iwami kagura, as well as desires to bring tourists tothe area through offertorial kagura viewings. Rather than seeking to benefit to the areaby using kagura as a stage spectacle, the respondent, while recognizing that kagura is a
tourism resource, hopes to bring in people to the area in a more direct fashion.
In my interview survey, while some people thought positively about having tourists
22

Translator’s note: The awkward English phrasing reflects the phrasing of the Japanese original.

30

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

view offertorial kagura (stating that offertorial kagura alone doesn’t feel very worthwhile
but dancing in front of tourists serves as motivation), others felt that this presented adilemma because they located offertorial kagura’s value in its authenticity (stating thatwith only tourism kagura, the true meaning of kagura will be lost).
I want to consider whether these views differ due to kagura groups’ attributes. To doso, I will identify groups with distinctive member residential histories and then examine
the differences in views between these groups. There were six responding groups (A) withmore than half of members born and living outside the district. Comparing the viewsof these groups’ representatives regarding carrying on and utilizing kagura with those of
the other groups (B), the difference in average rating was 0.5 or greater for items such as
the following: “independently developing new kagura pieces” (A - 3.2, B - 2.5), “taking
videos of dances” (A - 4.0, B - 3.4), and “independently developing costumes with new
designs” (A - 3.5, B - 2.9). All six groups positively rated taking videos of dances (“verygood”). Also, these six groups rated all statements higher than the other groups, excluding“independently developing new stage props,” “installing a kagura stage or a kagura hall
stage for tourists in the district,” and “establishing a kagura stage or a kagura hall stage fortourists in the city/town.”
In the free-response section, some respondents stated that with many members living
outside the district and being young, they were concerned about their group’s continuity,
as well as felt conflicted about how to interact as a group with local residents and passdown culture.23 For members living outside of the kagura’s district, the kagura that they
are carrying on is not something they offer to the tutelary deities of the district in which
they live. This all shows that they feel conflicted about how to be seen as a legitimatetransmitter of local culture by people inside and outside that district, as well as thatthey are trying to figure out how to utilize kagura to contribute to the community andthereby acquire legitimacy. Therein we can glimpse a stance that seems contradictory at
first glance: to pass on that district’s kagura, rather than carrying out the kagura as it has
always been done, it is necessary to flexibly change kagura expressions in accordance withthe demands of the era.

3. Kagura Groups Carrying On Kagura: The Current Situation
From the previous section’s questionnaire survey results, we can tell that there is23

For example: “Currently group members are young and many are from outside the community, and I am concerned
whether there will be people who will continue to do this in the future. Also, few people join from the community.
Participation in community events is decreasing. Even in terms of traditional transmission, I have doubts whether
exchange with people in the community will be possible. Currently we are receiving requests for various types of
events, primarily offertorial kagura at local shrines. . . .. I don’t know how to move forward as a group, and activities
and practice for upcoming performance requests are what’s mainly on [my] mind. I think it’s necessary to think about
raising awareness amongst members themselves for the transmission of tradition.”Yamamoto: The Structure of Iwami Kagura’s Existence in Western Simane Prefecture 31
exchange between kagura groups in the Iwami region, as well as that there is a diverse
set of structures for carrying on kagura. Typology-based analysis of these groups cannot
capture the diversity of their characteristics and situations, and is not necessarily
appropriate if we want to show the structure by which these groups exist in theircommunities. Therefore, in this section, I will avoid doing so and instead introduce
the activities of kagura groups with distinguishing attributes based on the results of myinterview survey.

A Recently Established Kagura Group
ID37 was established in 2011 by six former members of a high school hometown
performing arts club because they wanted to continue kagura with fellow club members
after graduation. One of their objectives was to revive their hamlet’s offertorial kagura,which had died out. Having recently founded their group, they are all in their twenties.
Their costumes and implements are stored in their hamlet’s now-closed elementary
school. They practice twice a week at a community center that neighbors the former
elementary school.
Initially after the group’s founding, they did not have joint public performance
opportunities, and put on their own ones. In recent years, requests for public
performances have been gradually increasing and they now do not put on solo public
performances. Their representative states that having such public performances, in otherwords, opportunities to perform in front of people, serves as motivation to practice.24
Due to the circumstances of the group’s founding, they emphasize precision in kagura
dance. In my interview, the group representative remarked that with the group being new,first and foremost, it is important to properly perform the kagura that already exists, aswell as that they want to mesmerize people not with stage props but with the true kagura
dance.

A Newly-Independent Kagura Group
ID35 was turned into an independent group in 1997 by a person from the children’s
division of ID14. ID14 emphasizes tradition in dance and has firm hierarchicalrelationships, which this person felt to be restrictive. While a child, they wanted to danceon the stage at public performances. However, the group did not let its children’s division
do so. Out of the desire to incorporate dances in their own style, including new moves,and take the stage themselves, five members went independent when they were middle
school students.
24

Sako and Hashimoto have also pointed out that showing dances to audiences itself serves as motivation for carrying on
kagura. See Sako, “Dentō geinō no keishō nitsuite”; Hashimoto, “Hozon to kankō no hazama de.”

32

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

Partially due to these circumstances of its establishment, and at first those aroundthem were critical. However, there were adults who were understanding and supported
them. At the time of their founding they were not adults, so adults served as the group’s
representative. One such individual lent money at no interest to the group so that they
could make costumes. They now practice once a week at a community center. Having
acquired the understanding of the community, they continue to be able to use it for free.
Offertorial dances for shrines in the area where the group is located are done by groups
that have existed in the community for a long time (such as ID14). For this reason, ID35,
which was recently founded, offers kagura to shrines outside of its area in response torequests. It often performs outside of the Shimane Prefecture, particularly in Hiroshima
Prefecture. Some of its members have participated in a New York magic show as anorochi. The group also has begun trying its hand at new methods of kagura expression.
For example, it began creating new kagura pieces around 2014.

A Kagura Group with Many Members from Outside the Community
ID6 was established in 1864. Currently, thirty-four of its forty members are from, andlive, outside the local community. Some members have left their hometown for education
or work.25 Such individuals cannot participate in twice-weekly practice. While theysometimes participate in public performances at events, the number of actually active
members is at most around twenty-five.
Many of the members live in Ōda City, where the kagura group is also located. They
are primarily in their twenties. A member in their thirties serves as the group’s head. The
kagura of ID6 was the roku chōshi kagura passed down in the group’s hamlet, but as thenumber of young members increased, hachi chōshi pieces were introduced.
In Ōda City, there is a children’s kagura group. While it was established in 2000,
kagura had ceased to be carried out in the group’s hamlet since 1995, and when reviving
this kagura, group members had to learn to dance from a neighboring kagura group. This
hamlet’s offertorial kagura is done by ID6, which was deeply involved in establishing thischildren’s kagura group and teaching members how to dance. Children’s group members
graduate from the group upon high school graduation. Therefore, individuals who wantto continue kagura must join another group. ID6 became one group that took in suchindividuals. Fifteen years have passed after the founding of the children’s kagura group,and ID6 now has a high percentage of young individuals, primarily ones who came fromthe children’s group. In this way, the group, therefore, has become young again.
25

Shimane Prefecture does not have any private universities. There is only Shimane University (a national university
located in the city of Matsue), University of Shimane Junior College (also in Matsue), and the University of Shimane (aprefectural university located in the city of Hamada). See note 16.

Yamamoto: The Structure of Iwami Kagura’s Existence in Western Simane Prefecture 33
A Children’s Kagura Group
ID31 is a children’s kagura group. This group was founded so that children (primarilypreschoolers to middle schoolers) could carry on kagura. The current representative’s
father (the founder) learned to dance from ID14 and established the group in 1972. The
current representative took over upon the founder’s death. Initially, after its founding,many ID31 members resided in its hamlet, but today they live all around the city ofGōtsu, where the hamlet is located.
They practice and store their costumes at a community center. Their current costumes
were purchased with local donations and made by a local futon store. Some of thecostumes, such as white robes, were made by adults. Currently, the group collects amonthly 500 yen membership fee, which is used for children’s snacks during practice,amongst other things. Kagura instruction is done by people who have graduated from
ID31 and are currently dancing in other kagura groups. Its major public performances
throughout the year are primarily local events: a summer night festival, a gatheringfor honoring elders, a culture festival, and so on. They perform for free to repay thecommunity for its everyday understanding of and support for its activities.
Initially after its founding, the group carried on ID14’s dances, but today its dances
are from a variety of groups. This is because children themselves see adult groups’ dances
and incorporate those they like into their own repertoire. ID31 does not have an adultdivision. Not infrequently, children who want to continue to do kagura after graduating
join a group that has dances they like.

A Kagura Group with a High Yearly Performance Volume
ID19 was established in 1907. Around 1951, it incorporated hachi chōshi dance from aneighboring group, which today makes up the primary part of its repertoire. Of its twenty
members from seventeen households, twelve members from eleven households live in thehamlet where the group is located. Two of its members are transplants to the community,
one of which is a professional taiko artist.
Groups in the area that used to be the town of Hikimi (where this group is located)take turns doing offertorial kagura. At the community’s request, the group also does
offertorial kagura for the neighboring area that used to be the town of Mito. 26 Its
offertorial kagura repertoire consists of approximately six dances. It also has a deep
relationship with local residents. For example, it provides instruction for elementary
school and middle school club activities in the Hikimi area, as well as instruction at ahigh school in the city of Masuda.
26

The towns of Hikimi and Mito became part of the city of Masuda in 2004.

34

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

This group is notable for its large yearly volume of performances. Regarding this, thegroup representative pointed out that kagura will not survive unless used as a tourism
resource, and said that the group is further refining its dances to increase audiencesatisfaction. Approximately ten years ago, this group developed a new kagura piecebased on community lore. It now serves as the group’s major dance. Also, it is actively
seeking out ways to introduce local culture to tourists from inside and outside Japan. For
example, it also puts on English kagura that includes explanations of pieces in English
and an English chorus.

4. Conclusion: The Structure by Which Iwami Kagura Exists
In this paper, I analyzed the existence structure of Iwami kagura, which is passed downin Shimane Prefecture’s Iwami region, based on a questionnaire and interview survey.
Table 2 summarizes the existence structure of Iwami kagura groups that I identified inthis paper.
In the Iwami region, there is a Liaison Council that is a federation of kagura groups.
Some of these Iwami kagura groups are registered with this Liaison Council. Through the
Liaison Council, groups that belong to it exchange information, transmit to governmentorgans their collective opinions, and so on. Municipalities and tourism associations
serve as contact points for public performance and event appearance requests. They also
provide information to tourists.
Over eighty percent of responding groups’ members are male. Most of the males arein their thirties, followed by those eighteen or younger. The largest age subset of females
is eighteen and younger. In many cases, the members who are eighteen or younger
belong to a group’s children’s division or are part of a group for children. Individuals
participating in the children’s divisions of kagura groups sometimes become full membersof these groups when they get older (upon advancing in their education or starting a job).
Also, members of children’s kagura groups sometimes join another kagura group based on
their preferences and relationships upon graduation from their group. Here, they makechoices that are not bound by the shrine of which they are a parishioner, the hamlet towhich they belong, and so on.
Some members of kagura groups went independent due to different views aboutgroup operations. Some launched their own group in order to, for example, revive acommunity’s offertorial kagura. In all of these cases, neighboring groups’ dances havebeen adopted based on the preferences of the founders and members, the form of kagura
passed down in the community, and so on.
Looking at activities throughout the year, offertorial kagura is primarily done in midOctober. There are many other opportunities to dance, such as regularly-scheduled
public performances at the likes of roadside stations and tourist destinations, as well

Yamamoto: The Structure of Iwami Kagura’s Existence in Western Simane Prefecture 35
as performance done at the request of other communities. Some include opportunities
for providing entertainment to local residents, such as performances at nursing homes
and shopping mall events. Due to such opportunities for public performance being
throughout the year, groups practice about once or twice a week. We can also see thatdancing in front of an audience is something group members look forward to and that itserves as motivation for carrying on kagura.

Fig 2. The Existence Structure of Kagura Groups in the Iwami Region
Source: Created by the author based on questionnaire survey.

A year’s income primarily comes from requested public performances. The percentage
occupied by donations is also not insignificant, but they are an unstable source ofincome. While they are received from communities and audience members for whomsuch donations are part of their culture, often this is not the case. Also, it is not rare
for donations to not be received at public performances that involve paid tickets.

36

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

A high percentage of more than a few groups’ expenditures consists of costume repairs
and purchases. These are paid with funds saved over some years, grants, and so on.
Facility management expenses are not a major portion of expenses. Shrines, community
centers, former schools, and so on are used for the likes of practices and costume storage.
Groups can use these for free or at a very lost cost thanks to the understanding of thecommunity and municipalities. Donations make up a large portion of income, andfacility management expenses make up a small portion of expenditures, a fact whichreflects forms of support that happen outside of local and municipal institutions (unspoken
support). These are possible thanks to the understanding of local residents regarding thesegroups’ work to carry on kagura.
In such localities, dancing and viewing kagura have taken root as entertainment ineveryday life. A foundation is in place that makes it easy to acquire the understanding ofmunicipalities and local residents regarding carrying on kagura. In my surveys, I foundthat when using kagura as a tourism resource, being watched became motivation for
dancing. On the other hand, more than a few respondents touched on the dilemmas theyfelt regarding turning their kagura into a resource as a tourism spectacle. Further research
can reveal whether the local structures that enable kagura to continue to exist that became
clear in this paper are also found in other communities and cultures.

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the Shimane Prefecture Western Prefectural Resident Center(Shimane-ken Seibu Kenmin Sentā 島根県西部県民センター), the Iwami Kagura WideArea Liaison Council (Iwami Kagura Kōiki Renraku Kyōgikai 石見神楽広域連絡協議会), and kagura groups’ members for their considerable cooperation in my fieldwork.
This research was supported by a JSPS Kakenhi grant (no. 17K03256, Grant-in-Aid for
Scientific Research [C], “Waga kuni enpen chiiki ni okeru dentō geinō no genzai” わが国縁辺地域における伝統芸能の現在, research representative Yamamoto Kenta).
(Translated by Dylan Luers Toda)

Yamamoto: The Structure of Iwami Kagura’s Existence in Western Simane Prefecture 37
REFERENCES
Hasebe Tadashi 長谷部正 and Ōmura Michiaki 大村道明. “Dentō geinō no keishō o tōshite
miru nōson shakai no iji no kanōsei” 伝統芸能の継承を通してみる農村社会の維持の可能性. Nōgyō keizai kenkyū hōkoku 農業経済研究報告 41 (2010): 69–82.
Hashimoto Hiroyuki 橋本裕之. “Hozon to kankō no hazama de: Minzoku geinō no genzai”
保存と観光のはざまで―民俗芸能の現在. In Butai no ue no bunka: Matsuri, minzokugeinō, hakubutsukan 舞台の上の文化―まつり・民俗芸能・博物館, pp. 117–130. Ibaraki,Ōsaka: Ōtemon Gakuin Daigaku Shuppankai, 2014.
Inoue Kako 井上果子.“Sankanchi no dentō bunka keishō ni miru aratana nōson bunka
ninaite no katachi: Takachihogō, Shiibayama chiiki ni okeru kagura keishō no jirei
k e n k y ū” 山間地の伝統文化継承に見る新たな農村文化担い手の形：高千穂郷・椎葉山
地域における神楽継承の事例研究. Nōson keikaku gakkaishi 農村計画学会誌 36 (Special
Issue, 2017): 375–382.
Ishizuka Takatoshi 石塚尊俊. Nishi Nihon sho kagura no kenkyū 西日本諸神楽の研究.
Keiyūsha, 1979.
Kumagai Yoshitaka 熊谷嘉隆. “Akita-ken no minzoku geinō: Genjō to kadai soshite kongo
nitsuite” 秋田県の民俗芸能：現状と課題そして今後について. Kokusai Kyōyō Daigaku Ajia
Chiiki Kenkyū Renkei Kikō Kenkyū kiyō 国際教養大学アジア地域研究連携機構研究紀要 2(2016): 1–8.
Mogi Sakae 茂木栄. “Yanagita Kunio no mita tsunami kuyōe: Unosumai ni okeru shisha to seija”
柳田國男の見た津波供養絵―鵜住居（うのすまい）における死者と生者―. In Kyōzongaku
3 fukkō, chiiki no sōsei: Risuku sekai no yukue 共存学 3 復興・地域の創生、リスク世界のゆくえ, ed. Furusawa Kōyū 古沢広祐 and Kokugakuin Daigaku Kenkyū Kaihatsu Suishin
Sentā 國學院大學研究開発推進センター, pp. 53–72. Kōbundō, 2015.
Sako Toshimichi 迫俊道. “Dentō geinō no keishō nitsuite no ichikōsatsu: Hiroshima-shi ni
okeru kagura no jirei kara” 伝統芸能の継承についての一考察―広島市における神楽の事
例から. Ōsaka Shōgyō Daigaku ronshū 大阪商業大学論集 5(1) (2009): 609–621.
Satō Katsumi 佐藤克美 and Watabe Shin’ichi 渡部信一. Chō dejitaru jidai ni okeru minzokugeinō no keishō: Hachinohe hōryō kagura o jirei to shite 超デジタル時代における民俗芸能の継承―八戸法霊神楽を事例として―. Kyōiku jōhōgaku kenkyū 教育情報学研究 11 (2012):
41–50.
Takasaki Akira 髙崎彰. “Kyōiku jissen hōkoku Ogasawara no shizen, rekishi, bunka to gakkō
kyōiku zenpen: ‘Sōgōteki na gakushū no jikan’ no tenkai to tokushoku aru gakkō zukuri”
教育実践報告 小笠原の自然・歴史・文化と学校教育 前篇「総合的な学習の時間」の展
開と特色ある学校づくり Ajia Daigaku katei kyōiku kenkyū kiyō 亜細亜大学課程教育研究紀要 4 (2016): 27–36.

Takasaki Akira. “Kyōiku jissen hōkoku Ogasawara no shizen, rekishi, bunka to gakkō kyōiku
kōhen: ‘Iōtō hōtō jigyō’ to dentō geinō ‘Nan’yō odori’ no keishō” 教育実践報告 小笠原の

38

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)
自然・歴史・文化と学校教育

後篇「硫黄島訪島事業」と伝統芸能「南洋踊り」の継承

Ajia Daigaku katei kyōiku kenkyū kiyō 5 (2017): 42–52.
Tsutsui Yū 筒井裕. “Shizen saigai to kyōzon suru sairei: Tōkyōto Miyakejima no hatsuuma
matsuri o jirei to shite” 自然災害と共存する祭礼―東京都三宅島の初午祭を事例として―.
In Kyōzongaku 3 fukkō, chiiki no sōsei: Risuku sekai no yukue 共存学 3 復興・地域の創生、リスク世界のゆくえ, ed. Furusawa Kōyū 古沢広祐 and Kokugakuin Daigaku Kenkyū
Kaihatsu Suishin Sentā 國學院大學研究開発推進センター, pp. 73–90. Kōbundō, 2015.
Wada Takashi 和田崇 and Yamamoto Kenta 山本健太. “Hiroshima kagura: Sairyōikika nokanōsei” 広島神楽―再領域化の可能性. Kenritsu Hiroshima Daigaku keiei jōhōgakubu
ronshū 県立広島大学経営情報学部論集 8 (2016): 163–175.
Yamaji Kōzō 山路興造. “Iwami kagura o himotoku” 石見神楽をひもとく. In Iwami kagura nosōzōsei ni kansuru kenkyū 石見神楽の創造性に関する研究, ed. Shimane-ken Kodai Bunka
Sentā 島根古代文化センター, pp. 1–13. Matsue, Shimane: Shimane-ken Kodai Bunka
Sentā, 2013.
Yamamoto Kenta 山本健太, Wada Takashi 和田崇, and Mera Kōhei 米良亘平. “Kagura no
gendaiteki jōkyō: Miyazaki kagura to Hiroshima kagura ni miru shinjisei to shōhinsei” 神楽の現代的状況：宮崎神楽と広島神楽にみる神事性と商品性. Kokugakuin Daigaku kiyō
國學院大學紀要 54 (2016): 43–71.
Yamamoto Kenta. “Traditional Performing Arts as a Regional Resource: Examining Japan’s
Kagura Dance Form.” International Journal of Cultural and Digital Tourism 5 (2018):
24–40.