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Different Japanese Arts : DANCE Historically, kagura (dance of the gods) is the oldest form of dance in Japan. Originally performed by shamans, its influence is perceived in all Shinto dances performed at shrines today, to appease or attract the favour of the deities. In ancient Japan, dancing was called kami asobi, which meant Gods play. It was believed that when a person danced, it meant that God had entered the room. This ancient belief is associated with the sacred music and dance performed at shrines today. From the 6th century, Japan received a great deal of cultural influence from other parts of Asia, especially China and Korea. The earliest imported dance was a form of masked dance-drama called gigaku, which came to Japan from Korea in 612. The main legacy from gigaku was a two-man shishimai dance, which is the ancestor of all lion dances in Japan today. From the 7th to 8th centuries in particular, a wide range of Korean and Chinese music and dance were introduced, and came to be known under the generic terms gagaku (court music) and bugaku (court dance). As gagaku developed into the Heian period , it was systematized according to a left and right style. Such an arrangement was simple and symmetrical: left style gagaku consisted of Togaku and rinyugaku (China and Indochina), while the right style gagaku consisted of Komagaku and bokkaigaky (Korean and northeast China). Although gagaku had been mainly used as Buddhist and court ritual music, the Heian period saw it develop as an art form, which became fashionable among nobles and the aristocracy. When gagaku is performed as an instrumental ensemble without any dancing, it is technically known as kangen. When there is dancing involved, the term bugaku is used. Richly costumed dancers and the accompaniment of gagaku characterized bugaku. Two folk dances were imported to Japan from China in the 8th century. These two dance forms were called bagaku and sangaku. Bagaku literally means, "dance music". Formal performances of Bugaku consist of a combination of two pieces, one is from the Togaku (music originating in China) repertoire and the other is from Komagaku (music originating in Korea) repertoire. An ensemble that consists of three kinds of percussion and three kinds of winds provides the accompaniment. The number of players participating in such an ensemble varies. Bagaku is still performed at the Imperial court. Dancers hold their arms out and raise them high, creating a serene effect. In contrast to Bagaku, Sangaku was a very lively display of pantomime, acrobatics and stunts. It was used as the dance accompaniment of the court sumo festival in the Heian period (794-1185). Sangaku was banned from the Imperial Palace around 950 A.D., but adapted by the general public under the name Sarugaku. Sarugaku and Dengaku, originally a fertility ritual held in fields, eventually contributed to the development of the Noh drama in the 14th century. Noh was a spoken dance drama. Noh's masks and dance techniques restrain movement, rather than flaunt it. Noh is very sophisticated in its ability to express inner feelings. The Influence of Buddhism on Japan gave birth to another dance form called Odori. This dance has its beginning around 1000 AD. Nembutsu-odori dancers console the spirits of the dead. Odori influenced the development of a related dance, furyu-odori, in the 15th century. Furyu-odori dancers dressed up in showy costumes and fanciful finery. Later, other dances with religious significance, like the Bon-odori, became events that everyone could participate in. Dance thus evolved in two directions - some dances were best when everyone joined in, while others were performances given by accomplished artists, to be enjoyed by an audience. The rise of a mercantile urban culture in 17th century Japan gave rise to the development of popular theater, notably kabuki and Bunraku Puppet Theater, and a style of dance that reflected kabuki's love of gaudiness and spectacle. Shosagoto dances (originally for the roles of onnagata female impersonators) became the most important type of kabuki dance, differentiated according to whether a lyrical or narrative style of music was used to accompany it. Kabuki dance was practiced in its own right by townspeople. The term Nihon buyo today refers to kabuki dances especially adapted for separate stage performance.
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