NIHON BUYO

Nihon buyostong> has four main building blocks through which it has developed over the last 4 centuries:

1) First and foremost is kabuki buyo, which comprises a large part of nihon buyo. Kabuki buyo grew out of kabuki, originally a combination of drama, dance, and music. As kabuki became established as a form of theatre in the late 17th century, dance was abstracted and developed as a separate art form. Consequently, kabuki buyo has grown and been handed down within the framework of the kabuki theatre, and the style of the kabuki theatre is reflected in elements of its choreography; for example, familiar scenes from daily life represented in abstract form, and an exaggerated, stylistic beauty in the movements.

2) Secondly, noh, which developed around the 15th century. The circular movements (mai) characteristic to noh dance, have been absorbed into nihon buyo’s technique and style. Instruments used in noh have also become an integral part of the music of nihon buyo.

3) Thirdly, folk performing arts. Chronologically, these originated earlier than the noh theatre. Aspects of local, folk performing arts which were not incorporated into noh are embodied in nihon buyo. In contrast to the grounded, circular movements (mai) which are central to noh, motions which resemble springing and jumping (odori) are often used in nihon buyo.

4) Fourthly, a collection of creative, original works which appeared in the 20th century in the wake of the wide influence of Euro-American forms of culture in Japan. The original works emerged as part of a trend to break away from nihon buyo’s dependency on kabuki and to pioneer new ground as a dance form. In terms of technique, however, they do not differ substantially from kabuki buyo.

Nihon buyo developed as a separate art form originating from kabuki buyo, as mentioned earlier. In addition, Nihon buyo has traditionally been divided into 2 types of genre which reflect geographic centers of cultural activity in Japan.

One is the Edo culture, centered in Tokyo, and the other is the Kamigata culture based in Kyoto and Osaka.

In the late 17th century, when kabuki buyo developed, the cultural center of Japan was located in Kyoto and Osaka.  However, in the early 18th century, the center shifted to Edo, and by the 19th century Edo overpowered Kyoto and Osaka as the focal point of cultural activity. As a result, dance performances and audiences in Kyoto and Osaka shifted away from the stage, and it became popular to perform and to enjoy dances in Japanese-style drawing rooms (zashiki) in tea houses and in aristocrat’s homes, much smaller spaces compared to the kabuki stage.

Different terms began to be used to distinguish between the two: Edo-centered kabuki buyo was called odori characterized by a more earthy, extroverted type of movement, whereas in Kyoto and Osaka, the term mai is used, generally distinguished by a restrained, ceremonial quality.

Mai, which literally means "revolving," is said to have its origin in the movements of shrine maidens, who circled a ceremonial site holding springs of the sacred sakaki tree and bamboo in a ritual intended to bring tranquillity and well-being to the land. In time, as this ritual was repeated, the actions and gestures by which the priestess signified divine possession were formalized and evolved into a ritual dance performed on stage by a priestess holding a fan. This, in turn,  developed into the art of Noh. Like the ritual movements from which they evolved, Noh and other “Mai” dance genres generally take the form of one or two performers circling the stage holding a fan or similar prop in this manner.

Odori, which literally means "jumping," traces its lineage to certain sects of the Jodo (Pure Land)  sect of Buddhism that spread rapidly among the common people in the medieval period. The  Jodo sect emphasized the repeated chanting of a simple prayer (nenbutsu) by groups of  followers, who sometimes jumped about to the rhythm of the accompanying bell in a primitive kind of dance called nenbutsu odori. Until the development of kabuki in the Edo period, all odori was essentially this type of group dancing, the participants keeping time to the music with little regard for symbolic or literary meaning. Vestiges of this type of dancing can be seen today in the bon odori folk dance of each region of Japan.

Today,nihon buyo is broadly divided into Edo(Tokyo)’s kabuki buyo based odori, and Kamigata (Kyoto, Osaka)’s mai, also called jiuta mai. While the former is demonstrative and danced to a vivid rhythm, the latter is more introspective, and the rhythm is more gentle and imbued with emotion.

The main accompaniment for all types of Nihon Buyo is the shamisen (3 stringed music instrument) and some form of singing such as nagauta or jiuta, or singing narration, such as kato-bushi, gidayu, tokiwazu, yamatogaku, tomimoto, or kiyomoto. The Kamigata mai of the Kyoto-Osaka region is accompanied by jiuta singer playing the shamisen, and in fact another name for this tradition of dance is jiuta mai.  Odori is usually accompanied by one of the singing narrative forms such as nagauta, tokiwazu, or kiyomoto.  During the Edo period, Kouta and hauta came into existence.