2Public Stage Performances of Folk Performing Arts
(Minzoku Geinō) in Japan: History, Meaning and
Significance1
O GAWA N AOYUKI

Keywords: folk performing arts (minozoku geinō 民俗芸能), hometown
performing arts (kyōdo geinō 郷土芸能), stage public performances (butaikōen 舞台公演), folk cultural properties (minzoku bunkazai 民俗文化財),
bearers of performing arts (geinō no ninaite 芸能の担い手), the religious
nature of performing arts (geinō no shūkyōsei 芸能の宗教性), performers
and audiences (enja to kankyaku 演者と観客)
Author's Statement
After entering the aughts, Japanese society’s declining birthrate and aging population
became pronounced. Furthermore, urbanization in Tokyo and other major urban
areas, as well as population decline in provincial cities and rural villages, progressed. As
a result of these demographic changes, it has become difficult to pass on the traditional
folk performing arts that have been nurtured through long historical processes. This isespecially true in areas experiencing falling birthrates, aging populations, and declining
populations. Under these social conditions, folk performing arts, which are normally
performed at their local festivals, were held for the public in theaters and halls inprovincial and major cities. Such activities, which seek to draw attention to these
performing arts, as well as increase bearers’ motivation to carry on their traditions by
exposing them to new audiences, flourished more than ever before. One aim in thesestill ongoing activities is to secure and cultivate future generations that will carry on
folk performing arts, and, in some cases, to attract tourists.
In light of this situation, this paper aims to clarify how folk performing arts have beenpresented on the stages of theaters in cities from the past to the present, as well as theintention in doing so, thereby providing material for examining the future of folk performing
arts public stage performances and ways to sustain and pass on such local practices.
This article is a translation of Ogawa Naoyuki 小川直之, “Minzoku geinō no butai kōen: sono rekishi, igi” 民俗芸
能の舞台公演―その歴史・意義―, Toshi minzoku kenkyū 都市民俗研究 24 (2019): 1–12. Translated by Dylan
Luers Toda.
1

Kokugakuin Japan Studies, volume 3, 2022, pp. 2–14
© 2022 Kokugakuin University

Ogawa: Public Stage Performances of Folk Performing Arts
(Minzoku Geinō) in Japan: History, Meaning, and Significance 3
Introduction

Looking at culture research and cultural events throughout Japan today, folk
performing arts (minzoku geinō 民俗芸能)2 are receiving unprecedented attention.
This is because the opportunities, examples of which I will provide below, forpublic performances outside of their localities—such as Tokyo, Osaka, and provincial
cities—are increasing.
It is difficult for one individual to acquire a complete understanding of such
performances throughout Japan and examine their meaning, significance, and associatedissues. Organized research is necessary. However, it is clear that folk performing arts were
often performed outside of their communities even from the mid-1920s to around 1940
(also at the time referred to as minzoku geijutsu 民俗芸術 or “folk art”). During these
decades, stage performances of folk performing arts took place around Japan in a similar
form as today.
Of course, these were different times, and the characteristics and content of these
performances cannot be simplistically compared. However, it is the case that public stage
performances of folk performing arts flourished also in the decades leading up to the
middle of the twentieth century.
What are the historical circumstances in the background to such performances inplaces like Tokyo? To answer this question, I will first provide an overview of the historicalcircumstances of folk performing arts’ stage performances, as well as their meaning,
significance, and issues.

1. The History of Folk Performing Arts’ Stage Performances: Meiji, Taishō,and Early Shōwa
With Japan greeting modernity, in the early Meiji period (1868–1912), the socalled “civilization and enlightenment” (bunmei kaika 文明開化) project began. While
technology, thought, and institutions entered the country from Europe and the UnitedStates, it appears that the modernization of people’s daily lives did not go so well during
these early years. However, from the late 1880s to late 1890s, this project would manifest
itself concretely and take root in people’s daily lives. Amidst such Westernization,
Japanese increasingly looked to “hometowns” (kyōdo 郷土), and the new cultural research
perspective of “folk art” or “folk performing art” appeared. Allow me first to provide an
overview of such developments.

2

Also referred to as “hometown performing arts” (kyōdo geinō 郷土芸能).

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Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

Hometown Education and Local Studies: The Meiji Period
One manifestation of the attention paid to local cultures amidst the civilizationand enlightenment project was the “hometown education” (kyōdo kyōiku 郷土教育)
at elementary schools that began around the turn of the twentieth century. It was aneffort to pay attention to the economic structures and economic power of the various
cultures and societies throughout Japan. Based on the idea that local history should bestudied before Japanese history, and that one’s local geography should be studied before
world geography, hometown education was incorporated into school curriculums. This
involved many actors and hometown education would gradually grow and become
institutionalized. Even today, students receive assignments to look into the daily lives ofthe past in their communities. The study of one’s hometown is alive in school education.
After hometown education began, in response to historical research that entirely
focused on the central government, Nitobe Inazō 新渡戸稲造 (1862–1933) proposed“ruriology” (jikata-gaku 地方学; 3 lit. “regional/local studies”). This field advocatedthinking about Japan as a whole after taking into account the details of local communities’
lifestyles and histories. Nitobe created the “Hometown Society” (Kyōdo-kai 郷土会) at his
home, and, under his leadership, figures from a variety of fields came together, seeking
to understand the histories of and daily lives in local communities throughout Japan.
They included Yanagita Kunio 柳田國男 (1875–1962), the anthropogeographer Odauchi
Michitoshi 小田内通敏 (1875–1954), as well as the agriculture/forestry bureaucrat andthen Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Ishiguro Tadaatsu 石黒忠篤 (1884–1960).
In other words, from around this time, people’s gazes would come to focus not only
on the history of the “center” but also concrete aspects of local communities’ histories,
economics, and daily lives.

The Hometown Gaze: Taishō
In 1913, along with Takagi Toshio 高木敏雄 (1876–1922), Yanagita Kunio publishedthe inaugural issue of the journal Kyōdo kenkyū 郷土研究 (Hometown Research). It
elucidated people’s daily lives in communities throughout Japan, primarily focusing
on folklore. People from around the country contributed to this journal, which was
distributed in great numbers.
Amidst such developments, public stage performances began to be held of folk
performing arts. This had its beginnings in the building of the Japan Youth Hall (Nippon
Seinenkan 日本青年館; completed in 1925), a result of youth organizations throughout
Japan coming to Yoyogi (today, Harajuku) to offer their labor to build the shrine Meiji
3

The world jikata is still used in the study of Japan’s early modern period (for example, in the term “local documents”
or jikata bunsho 地方文書).

Ogawa: Public Stage Performances of Folk Performing Arts
(Minzoku Geinō) in Japan: History, Meaning, and Significance 5
Jingū 明治神宮 (kami enshrined in 1920) and the subsequent heightening of the youth
group movement. With youth in communities throughout Japan engaging in a varietyof performing arts, the first “Hometown Dance and Folk Song Festival” (Kyōdo Buyō toMin’yō no Kai 郷土舞踊と民謡の会) was held at the just-completed Nippon Seinenkan in
October 1925, and then again in 1926. This means that public stage performances of folk
performing arts in Tokyo began ninety-three years ago.
In this way, with the term/concept of kyōdo 郷土 or “hometown” being used in phrases
such as kyōdo kyōiku (hometown education), Kyōdo-kai (Hometown Society), Kyōdo
kenkyū (Hometown Research), and kyōdo buyō (hometown dance) from the end of the
Meiji period, a gaze towards the “local” took a quite clear form. We should also note thatin this context, scholars began to talk about folk performing arts.

The Folk Art Society’s Launch and the First Folk Art Photography Exhibition:
Early Shōwa
Upon entering the Shōwa period (1926–1989), the term minzoku geijutsu (folk art)
began to be used in place of kyōdo buyō (folk dance). In 1927, the Folk Art Society(Minzoku Geijutsu no Kai 民俗藝術の会) was launched. Involved were the folklorists
Yanagita Kunio, Hayakawa Kōtarō 早川孝太郎 (1889–1956), Nagata Kōkichi 永田衡
吉 (1893–1990), and Kodera Yūkichi 小寺融吉 (1895–1945); as well as the songwriter
Nakayama Shinpei 中山晋平 (1887–1952) and the Yoyogi resident, writer of the lyrics tothe song Haru no Ogawa 春の小川, and Japanese literature scholar Takano Tatsuyuki 高野
辰之 (1876–1947). The society launched its journal Minzoku geijutsu in January 1928.
In the same month, the society held its first folk art photography exhibition(Minzoku Geijutsu Shashin Tenrankai 民俗藝術写真展覧会) at the Mitsukoshi store in
Nihonbashi. Department stores in Japan often serve as venues for cultural activities suchas exhibitions, and Mitsukoshi has put the most effort into such work. This can be seen
by its Mitsukoshi Theater. The fact that the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi store was the sight ofa photography exhibition of folk art (hometown dance, folk performing art) from around
Japan reflects the movement from the beginning of the Shōwa period to capture cultural
phenomena in photographs and present them in exhibitions. While war photography
exhibitions had been held at the time of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and
the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), photography exhibitions related to folk culture
gradually began to appear around 1930. Also, at the exhibition, approximately one
hundred different cabinet-size photographs of performing arts from around Japan, suchas Sada shinnō 佐陀神能 (the Noh theater of Sada Shrine in Shimane Prefecture’s Matsue
City), were sold. This was the beginning of folk performing arts as photographic subjects.
Today, one finds many photographers at festivals and folk performing art performances inJapan today, and their genealogy stretches back to this time.

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Folk Performing Arts: Early Shōwa
The November 1935 issue of Nihon minzoku 日本民俗 (Japanese Folklore; no. 4)
included an announcement for the first Folk Performing Arts Convention (MinzokuGeinō Taikai 第一回民俗芸能大会). This convention was held at the Hibiya Public Hall
(Hibiya Kōkaidō 日比谷公会堂), and featured performances of Nekko bangaku 根子番
楽 (from the Nekko area in Akita Prefecture’s town of Ani) and Kanasa dengaku 金砂田
楽 (from the Kami-miyakawauchi area in what was Ibaraki Prefecture’s Kanasa Village[today, Hitachiōta City], as well as the Kanasa area in what was Ibaraki Prefecture’s
Kegano Village [today, Hitachiōta City]). In Nihon minzoku’s August 1937 issue (vol. 2,
no. 12), there was a special feature on Nanbu kagura 南部神楽 (Hachinohe City, Aomori
Prefecture). Orikuchi Shinobu 折口信夫 led the activities of the Folklore Society of Japan(Nihon Minzoku Kyōkai 日本民俗協會), which published Nihon minzoku (ed. Kitano
Hiromi 北野博美). Nanbu kagura was publicly performed in 1937 at the Kokugakuin
University auditorium. The Japanese phrase minzoku geinō, or “folk performing arts,” hadits beginnings in this convention’s name.
While today minzoku geinō is an official term—it is listed as a kind of “folk culturalproperty” (minzoku bunkazai 民俗文化財) in Japan’s Act for the Protection of Cultural
Properties (Bunkazai hogohō 文化財保護法)—this phrase was also used in prewar times.
During the Taishō period (1912–1926), it was called kyōdo buyō (hometown dance), andthen minzoku geijutsu (folk art) also came into use. Amidst such terminological changes,
interest heightened in the performing arts passed down in local communities.

The Era of Min
The term minzoku geijutsu appeared with the launch of the Folk Art Society in
1927, and subsequently minzoku geinō began to be used in 1935. Both include theterm minzoku, which in this context means “folk” or “folklore.” One finds many terms
that start with min 民 (the people) in the early Shōwa period: minkan denshō 民間伝
承 (folklore), mindan 民譚 / minwa 民話 (folktale), minka 民家 (traditional-style houseof non-rulers), min’yō 民謡 (folk song), mingu 民具 (traditional everyday or ceremonial
implements used by ordinary people), mingei 民芸 (folk craft), and so on.
As I stated, in 1925 the “Hometown Dance and Folk Song [Min’yō] Festival” washeld, and subsequently the term min’yō (folk song) would come into use. After this earlyexample, we find minwa, minka, mingu, and mingei. Academic terms then appeared
around 1935, with Yanagi Muneyoshi 柳宗悦 coining the term mingei and Shibusawa
Keizō 渋沢敬三 the term mingu.
The fact that so many of these terms began to be used at the beginning of the Shōwa
period means that a strong interest developed in “ordinary people.” It is important tohistorically contextualize this pronounced focus on “the people” instead of “rulers” (kan 官)

Ogawa: Public Stage Performances of Folk Performing Arts
(Minzoku Geinō) in Japan: History, Meaning, and Significance 7
as Japan began moving towards wartime footing around 1929/30.

2. Public Stage Performances of Folk Performing Arts Today
The Great East Japan Earthquake and Folk Performing ArtsAs I have stated, today there is an increased interest in folk performing arts, and thosefrom throughout Japan are being staged around Tokyo. A major cause of this is the 11
March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. We learned many things from this disaster.
One was that a great number of folk performing arts with long histories were being
passed down in the Pacific Ocean coastal areas of the Tōhoku region. When, exhausted,
locals sought to resuscitate their daily lives, hearts, and minds, they first sought to revive
the folk performing arts that they had been passing down.
For example, in the Ōishi area of Iwate Prefecture’s Rikuzentakata City, where 120 of
160 households were affected by the tsunami, on 23 March—approximately two weeks
after the earthquake—a tiger dance (toramai 虎舞) was performed.4 This dance inspired
local survivors, giving them the courage to press on. There were other similar cases in the
Pacific Ocean coastal area of the Tōhoku region. Folk performing arts became one pillar
towards recovery.
In this way, the value of folk performing arts was reconsidered due to the Great East
Japan Earthquake, and this can be seen as one factor that led to a heightened interest inthese performing arts and the flourishing of their public stage performances.

Public Stage Performances of Folk Performing Arts Around Japan
Today we find many public stage performances of folk performing arts in Tokyo andits environs. I have listed some of the folk performing art stage performances throughout
Japan in Table 1. In the Greater Tokyo area, there was a public performance of Kuromori
黒森 kagura (Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture) at the temple Kenchōji 建長寺 (Kamakura
City, Kanagawa Prefecture) in November 2017, and a public performance of hōin 法印
kagura (Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture) at the Japan Education Center (Nihon Kyōikukan
日本教育館) Hitotsubashi Hall in Chiyoda City in February 2018. I myself was involved in
the Mukaiyama Hizoe 向山日添 kagura (Shiiba Village, Miyazaki Prefecture) performanceat the National Noh Theatre (Kokuritsu Nōgakudō 国立能楽堂) in the Sendagaya area of
Shibuya City in October 2017, and the Keichiku 京築 kagura (Kanda Town, Fukuoka
Prefecture) and Nishimera 西米良 kagura (Nishimera Village, Miyazaki Prefecture) public
performances at Kokugakuin University in the same month. Folk performing arts are
4“Dentō tashika na kizuna” 伝統

確かな絆, Asahi shinbun 朝日新聞, 2011.3.26, Tokyo evening edition.

Kokugakuin Japan Studies 3 (2022)

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Table 1. Examples of Folk Performing Art Public Stage Performances in the Great Tokyo Area andProvincial Cities
Event Name
(Japanese)

Event Name(English Translation)

Kokugakuin
University(Shibuya,
Tokyo)

Kyūshū no kagura ga
kyōbu suru
九州の神楽が響舞する

Kagura in the Kyushu
Area in Tokyo

Keichiku kagura(Kanda Town, Fukuoka
Prefecture), Nishimera
kagura (Nishimera Village,
Miyazaki Prefecture)

October2017

National Noh
TheatreShiiba kagura yūkyū
no mai
椎葉神楽悠久の舞

Shiiba Kagura: Danceof Eternity

Mukaiyama hizoe kagura(Shiiba Village, Miyazaki
Prefecture)

November
2017

Kenchōji(Kamakura City,
Kanagawa
Prefecture)
Yokohama
City, Kanagawa
Prefecture

Iwate kyōdo geinō
matsuri
岩手郷土芸能祭

Iwate Hometown
Performing Arts
Festival

Kuromori kagura(Miyako City,
Iwate Prefecture)

Heisei 29 nendo
Kanagawa kodomo
minzoku geinō
fesutibaru
平成29年度かながわ
こども民俗芸能フェスティバルKōkeisha ikusei
happyō-kai
後継者育成発表会

2017 Kanagawa
Children’s Folk
Performing Arts
FestivalChildren’s folk
performing arts from
Kanagawa Prefecture

Successor Cultivation
RecitalFolk performing arts from
Odawara City

Date

Place

October
2017

November
2017

Performances

December
2017

Odawara City,
Kanagawa
Prefecture

February
2018

Japan
Education
Center
Hitotsubashi
Hall (Chiyoda
City)

Dai 29 kai minzokugeinō to nōson seikatsuo kangaeru kai
第29回民俗芸能と農村生活を考える会

The Twenty-Ninth
Meeting for Thinking
About Folk
Performing
Arts and Rural Daily
Lives

Kanmachi hōin kagura(Tome City, Miyagi
Prefecture)

February
2018

Shizuoka City,
ShizuokaPrefecture

Dai kagura sai 2018
大神楽祭2018

Great Kagura Festival
2018

Folk performing arts frommountainous areas in
Shizuoka City

February
2018

Miyazaki City,
MiyazakiPrefecture

Kyūshū no kagura
shinpojiumu 2018
九州の神楽シンポジウム2018

Kyushu’s Kagura
Symposium 2018

Sada shinnō (Matsue City,
Shimane Prefecture), Hirado
平戸 kagura (Hirado
City, Nagasaki Prefecture),
Ushiodake 潮嶽 kagura(Nichinan City, Miyazaki
Prefecture), Haraigawa 祓川kagura (Takaharu Town,
Miyazaki Prefecture)

March
2018

Iida City,
NaganoPrefecture

Minami shinshū
minzoku geinō keishō
fōramu南信州民俗芸能継承フォーラムForum for Passing
Down Minami
Shinshū Folk
Performing Arts

Kuroda ningyō 黒田人形
(Iida City), Niino Snow
Festival (Niino no yuki
matsuri 新野の雪祭り;
Anan Town), Ōshika 大鹿
kabuki (Ōshika Village)

March
2018

Miyazaki City,
MiyazakiPrefecture

TakachihogōShiibayama chiiki sekainōgyō isan fōramu
高千穂郷・椎葉山
地域世界農業遺産
フォーラム

TakachihogoShiibayama Site
Globally Important
Agricultural Heritage
Systems Forum

Shiiba 椎葉 kagura(Shiiba Village, Miyazaki
Prefecture), Takachiho
高千穂 kagura (TakachihoTown), Hinokage 日之影
kagura (Hinokage Town)

Ogawa: Public Stage Performances of Folk Performing Arts
(Minzoku Geinō) in Japan: History, Meaning, and Significance 9
being staged not only in the Greater Tokyo Area. In provincial cities as well, performances
are being held of surrounding areas’ folk performing arts: forums in Miyazaki and Nagano,a festival in Shizuoka, and so on.
Also, in Yokohama City (Kanagawa Prefecture), the Kanagawa Children’s Folk
Performing Arts Festival was held in November 2017, and the Successor Cultivation
Recital was held in Odawara City in December of the same year. In these places, people
see intangible performing arts as pillars that will provide vitality and enduring strength for
local communities amidst the aging of society and depopulation, and they are therefore
dedicating themselves to cultivating these arts’ next generations.
Sometimes, the pieces performed are changed for different locations. For example, inthe case of Iwami 石見 kagura (Shimane Prefecture) and Aki 安芸 kagura (Hiroshima
Prefecture), there are komai 古舞 (old dances), shinmai 新舞 (newer dances), andshinshinmai 新々舞 (recently-created dances). The latter two are performed for tourists andthe former for village festivals. While clearly choosing between pieces, an attempt is being
made to turn these kagura into tourist attractions, and kagura conventions and regularperformances are held in a form close to that of commercial shows.

3. Folk Performing Art Theater Stage Performances
Next, I will consider issues related to today’s theme, namely, public theater stage
performances of folk performing arts. When inviting a regional folk performing art tocome to Tokyo, it is important to make clear the meaning and significance of putting ona stage performance.
There are four issues that require consideration.

(1) The Performers
The first issue is: who are the performers? Folk performing arts having been passed
down while maintaining close relationships with local communities. People in a certain
village’s certain hamlet are the bearers of a performing art. Parents pass it down to theirchildren, who pass it down to their own children. While traditions differ in content,
they have all have been passed down in their respective communities. With this inmind, the issue arises of maintaining coherence for stage performances outside of thesecommunities. In other words, there is the issue of how event planners can explain to
performers why they should come to Tokyo, or of how event planners can be accepted by
performers.
Japan has now constructed a society that is not based on social status. Japanese people
have spent considerable time and effort abolishing social statuses and creating a society
in which everyone is equal. Orikuchi Shinobu referred to the kabuki actors and other10

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professional performing artists in social status society as “outcast vagrants” (gorotsuki ごろ
5つき). His article “Gorotsuki no hanashi” ごろつきの話 published in 1928 discusses who
has shouldered performing arts throughout history.
Out of this scholarship has developed research on the organizations that transmit
performing arts, transmission genealogies, the relationship between the maintenance of
local communities and performing arts, as well as the relationship between community
identity formation and performing arts. However, if one takes into account public theater
stage performances, aspects arise that cannot be addressed with such existing academic
concerns in mind. It is necessary to adopt a research framework that focuses on therelationship between society and the performing arts.

(2) Performances’ Settings and Times
The second issue is that folk performing arts have settings and times intrinsic tothem that give their existence meaning. For example, twenty-six types of kagura arepassed down in Miyazaki Prefecture’s Shiiba Village. Sometimes, a performance will becanceled because the skill-holders are in mourning after a death in the kagura’s district.
While therefore kagura are not performed yearly in all districts, as a general rule they
are in November or December from the evening into the morning. Such rules exist for
performing arts around the country.
Another is example is the distinction between “garden performing arts” (niwa no geinō
庭の芸能) and “stage performing arts” (butai no geinō 舞台の芸能). At the Tanadui 種取Festival of Taketomi Island (Yaeyama, Okinawa), a stage is erected in front of the sacredplace called an on 御嶽. After the stage performance finishes, the festival shifts to thegarden performance, namely, dances on the on’s grounds. This is also found at the Niino
Snow Festival (Anan Town, Nagano Prefecture). At the beginning of the festival, in thefront shrine building ritual prayer performing arts (zun 順 and chūkei 中啓 dances, senmyō
宣命) are presented and then a garden dance is performed. In other words, there are rules
about the places that the performances are to take place.
Ise 伊勢 dance is passed down in the Kisō and Takano areas of Kōchi Prefecture’s Tsuno
Town. When it appears that someone is going to die, it is performed in the hope that theindividual will survive, or, in other cases, pass away without suffering. This is the only
time it is performed. There is also a rule that performers cannot practice. This is because it
is only performed when people are about to die and not during normal times. Here, thesetting and time intrinsic to this performing art that gives it meaning produce a taboo.
Orikuchi Shinobu explained the meaning of the seating stands (sajiki 桟敷, yagura

5

Orikuchi, “Gorotsuki no hanashi.”Ogawa: Public Stage Performances of Folk Performing Arts
(Minzoku Geinō) in Japan: History, Meaning, and Significance 11櫓) in Japanese theaters in his lectures on performing arts history from the 1928 to 1930

academic years.6 He says that they came from the offering of performing arts to greet
kami. However, since normally theater stage performances do not involve meaninginstilled settings and times, there is the issue of creating coherence with regard to these
two elements.
One way to address this issue is the purification done at Kokugakuin University’s
Shinto sanctuary before Omae 尾前 kagura (Shiiba Village, Miyazaki Prefecture) was
performed at the university in 2015. Also, when Nanbu kagura (Hachinohe City, Aomori
Prefecture) was performed at the university in 1937, a dance was offered at Ōmiya
Hikawa 大宮氷川 Shrine, the priestship of which had been historically assumed by thefamily of the then-Kokugakuin professor Nishitsunoi Masayoshi 西角井正慶, and then aperformance was held at the university’s auditorium, thereby maintaining coherence withregard to setting.7 As we can see here, the way that performers’ feelings of incongruity isaddressed is important.
Recently, there have been new developments with regard to performing arts’ settings.
In 2017, Goya Junko 呉屋淳子, who specializes in educational anthropology, published an
ethnography of performing arts at schools.8 It describes high school students in Okinawa
Prefecture’s Yaeyama area, primarily Ishigaki Island, learning Okinawan folk performing
arts on their own and working hard to appear as Okinawa’s representatives in a national
high school cultural festival. In this way, performing arts’ settings are now not only places
with religious meaning but also schools.
In the case of Kanagawa Prefecture, performers can appear in a national hometown
performing arts competition after being selected at Kanagawa’s prefecture-levelcompetition. While there are variations in degree, people are actively engaging in such
undertakings at schools throughout Japan. In connection with performing arts being
divorced from times and spaces assigned specific meanings, we also must consider
whether the term “school performing arts” will take root.

(3) Folk Performing Arts and Their Religious Nature
Third, there is the issue of how to handle the religious nature of folk performing
arts. Scholars have for many years asserted that folk performing arts have an inherent
religious nature. In other words, they have discussed these performing arts’ meaning as
Shinto performances that include the appeasement of souls and purification. While theseSee “Yagura to kadō” 櫓と花道 (pp. 367–377) and “Sajiki” 桟敷 (pp. 435–442) in Orikuchi Hakushi
Kinen Kodai Kenkyūjo, Orikuchi Shinobu zenshū nōto hen dai 5 kan “Nihon Geinōshi.”7
Nishitsunoi, “Kyōdo kenkyūkai kōkai ni okeru nanbu kagura narabini tamashiki jinja no kagura.”8
Goya, ‘Gakkō geinō’ no minzokushi.
6

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discussions are slanted in a sense, it is true that on the ground in these traditions we dooften find some sort of religious nature. For example, I once asked a child what they
thought of wearing a mask when performing kagura, and they replied that they were nolonger themselves when wearing it. In other words, they became like a kami. Also, in thecase of Ōshika kabuki (Ōshika Village, Nagano Prefecture), a middle school student said
that when they put on their makeup they ceased to be themselves. They primarily thought
about becoming their character. With this being the reality, scholarship has sought some
sort of religious significance in the origins of performing arts.
Relatedly, various statements are addressed to kami in folk performing arts. These
include senmyō, norito 祝詞, kamikuchi 神口, jushi 呪詞, yogoto 寿詞, and shōgyō 唱教.
Many scholars, thinking that such statements are these performing arts’ “scenarios” (ina theatrical sense), emphasize interpreting their meanings. This is necessary, but if one
considers that there is much language in the middle ages’ Ise Shinto that was read inalternate ways, interpreting meanings is difficult.
From this kind of perspective, scholars hold that these performing arts have religious
meaning, and the issue of how to handle this religious nature in public theater
performances arises. As previously described, when Nanbu kagura was going to be
performed at Kokugakuin University, performers took the stage in the university’s
auditorium as an extension of the several pieces offered at Ōmiya Hikawa Shrine. In
the case of Omae kagura, purification first took place in front of the university’s Shinto
sanctuary. This is how organizers handled the religious nature of these performing arts.
On the other hand, sometimes theaters themselves have a religious nature. For
example, the National Theatre of Japan (Kokuritsu Gekijō 国立劇場), Kabuki-za 歌舞伎
座, and many other famous Japanese theaters enshrine the theater’s kami. At the National
Theatre of Japan, there is a shrine at the stage door’s main entrance. Most theaters
enshrine kami for the safety of actors and audience members or successful performances.
In this way, how to connect performers taking the stage with folk performing art’s
religious nature, or how to ensure coherence in this regard, is an issue that requiresconsideration. This can be investigated in scholarship that focuses on the relationshipbetween performing arts and religion.

(4) T he Relationship Between “Offerers” (Performers) and Audience
Members
The fourth issue is the relationship between performers and audience members. If folk
performing arts have a highly religious nature, then the purpose of these performing arts
is making an offering to kami. In this sense, we could refer to performers as “offerers.” Thesettings of performing arts are shaped by the people who gather at the festival (audience
members) and offerers (performers). However, in the case of a theater, the relationshipOgawa: Public Stage Performances of Folk Performing Arts
(Minzoku Geinō) in Japan: History, Meaning, and Significance 13
between audience members and performers is completely different. While theaters can beseen as celebratory festival spaces, how should we think about their differences from thesettings of festivals for kami?
Also, performing on a theater stage gives performers a completely different feelingthan when performing at their village’s festival. Put positively, we could say that it gives
them confidence and pride. The reactions of stage performance audiences certainly makeperformers feel that what they have been doing is right and has a wonderful meaning
in the context of Japanese culture. This also makes for happier and more vibrant local
communities.
Let us consider the relationship between performers and audience members in more
concrete terms. First, there is performers’ pursuit of beauty. Despite amateurs engaging infolk performing arts, they pursue beauty: “I want to dance like that master,” or “I want
to be able to perform like that person.” They also have an attitude that seeks to avoid
repeating past mistakes.
Second, there is performers’ awareness of the audience’s gaze. Aware of its members,
they rework their performances. In their own villages, they probably do not pay mind
to audience members’ gazes. However, it is only natural that when large audiences comeout to see them perform in Tokyo, the desire emerges to arrange and dress up theirperformances.
These two elements give the performing arts two meanings: art of self-pursuit andart that is to be shown and to mesmerize. We can think of this as a traditional theory of
performers as individual actors (wazaogi 俳優). While critics offer various assessments ofprofessional performances in kabuki and the like, this area has not been touched on muchin scholarship on folk performing arts.

(5) The Performers’ Perspective: It’s More Interesting to Perform Performing
Arts
While my position is that of audience member and not performer, I heard some
unforgettable things around Japan.
For example, in the Takano area of Kōchi Prefecture’s Tsuno Town, there is a revolving
stage on which amateur kabuki (nōson kabuki 農村歌舞伎) is performed. Also, Tsunoyama old-style kagura is passed down there as well. A local named Kumada-san taught
me kagura movements in the sanctuary of Mishima Shrine (where the kagura stage islocated), and remarked, “Ogawa-san, the performing arts are not something that you
watch. If you do [perform] them, you’ll be hooked.” As Kumada-san says, performing
is much more interesting. I believe that this is very important when thinking about theperforming arts.

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Conclusion
Above, I presented four issues to consider regarding public stage performances of folk
performing arts at theaters. They all have changed throughout history and can be objectsof historical research. For example, with regard to traditional performer theory mentioned
above, if we trace related ideas through time from the present to the past, we find that
there was not always the same situation.
When folk performing arts are performed outside (in cities such as Tokyo) of the
intrinsic settings and times that give their existence meaning, one must consider theabove four issues. In other words, if public stage performances are held simply because
they are popular, performers will be drained, and these performing arts will not connect
to the future. We researchers must move forward while considering each of the merits anddisadvantages for performers of being invited to Tokyo to perform on stage in front oflarge numbers of people.
(Translated by Dylan Luers Toda)

REFERENCES
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民族誌 創造される八重山芸能, Shinwasha, 2017.
Orikuchi Shinobu 折口信夫. “Gorotsuki no hanashi” ごろつきの話. In Orikuchi Shinobu
zenshū 折口信夫全集, vol. 3, ed. Orikuchi Hakushi Kinen Kodai Kenkyūjo 折口博士記念
古代研究所編, pp. 22–46. Chūō Kōronsha, 1966.
Orikuchi Hakushi Kinen Kodai Kenkyūjo 折口博士記念古代研究所, ed. Orikuchi Shinobu
zenshū nōto hen dai 5 kan “Nihon Geinōshi” 折口信夫全集 ノート編 第5巻「日本芸能. Chūō Kōronsha, 1971.
史」
Nishitsunoi Masayoshi 西角井正慶. “Kyōdo kenkyūkai kōkai ni okeru nanbu kagura narabini
tamashiki jinja no kagura” 郷土研究會公開に於ける南部神楽竝びに玉敷神社の神楽.
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