HAYACHINE-KAGURA – AN EXQUISITE BOUQUET OF DANCES
HAYACHINE-KAGURA – AN EXQUISITE BOUQUET OF DANCES

Summary/Abstract: Hayachine-kagura – an Exquisite Bouquet of Dances. Kagura (sacred dance) is a showing of the sacred through human beings and human art, as it is the human who gives voice to the kami (deities). Kagura mediates between the deities and the community, having the power to create a world of virtual time and space. It also serves as entertainment for both the kami and the spectators. Last but not least, it is imbued with great aesthetic value. Among the many types of Kagura spectacles, Hayachine-kagura in Iwate-prefecture (in the north-east of the main island, Honshu) boasts about a bouquet of fifty dances that take in their vigor from old beliefs, also influenced by exorcizing rituals of the shugenja (ascetics practicing austerities in the mountains), who brought with them to the area the cult of a mythological animal that became the concrete manifestation of the Mountain God. He is said to absorb sins, sanctify the land and its people, and ensure abundant harvests. Lest his strength should weaken, he is given offerings of music and dance, being thus subjected to renewal rituals on July 31st through August 1st.

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