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1 - Ancient and early medieval performing arts

from Preface to Part I Japanese civilization arises

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2016

Jonah Salz
Affiliation:
Ryukoku University, Japan
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Summary

A number of important Japanese performing arts (geinō, 芸能) flourished before the appearance of the first dramatic forms, noh-kyogen, in the mid-fourteenth century. Some ancient geinō even offer complex stories using words, music, and dance. Performances or rituals played at court, Buddhist temples, and Shinto shrines influenced later theatrical spectacle. Some survived, but others are traceable only through historical records, literature, or picture-scrolls.

Ancient performing arts show diversity in origin, patronage, and style. Some were imported directly from the Asian continent under the Yamato government's (fourth to seventh centuries AD) policy of progress through assimilation, while others are native to the Japanese archipelago. Some arts supported by the nobility were highly refined; others, enjoyed by the lower classes, were wild and dynamic. These arts were neither perfected nor isolated, but rather continuously mutually influenced each other. Some arts descended from and replaced older ones, while others intertwined to bring about new hybrids. This continuous recombination of court, folk, and religious genres is a defining feature of the fluid premedieval performing arts.

Continental imports: gigaku, sangaku, bugaku

Japan's interaction with the Asian continent was especially active during the seventh and eighth centuries, with the systematic introduction of Korean and Chinese arts that then became established in Japan via continuous transmission within permanent institutions.

Gigaku (伎楽)

Masked pantomime gigaku, also known as kuregaku 呉楽 (lit., ‘music of China's Wu dynasty [222–80 AD]’), is one of Japan's earliest foreign performing arts. According to The Chronicles of Japan (Nihonshoki a.k.a. Nihongi), gigaku was introduced in 612 AD by Mimashi from the ancient Korean kingdom Paekche, who taught it in Nara. Gigaku was staged for the “eye-opening ceremony” of the Great Buddha in the Tōdaiji Temple in 752 AD and other annual, religious events.

Gigaku masks cover the entire head, unlike the smaller ones used in noh, and some are quite realistic and grotesque. According to the musical treatise Kyōkunshō (Anthology of lessons, 1223), gigaku was accompanied by flute, hip-drum, and cymbals.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

References

Yoshihiko, Amino et al (ed.). Taikei Nihon rekishi to geinō: oto to eizō to moji ni yoru (History and performing arts in Japan [presented by] sound, image and text), 11 vols. with videotape (Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1991)
Kenkyūkai, Geinōshi (ed.). Nihon no koten geinō (Japanese classical performing arts) (Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1970)
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Hoff, Frank. Song, Dance, Storytelling: Aspects of the Performing Arts in Japan, Cornell University East Asia Papers 15 (Ithaca, NY: Cornell China-Japan Program, 1978)
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Kōichi, Matsuo. Girei kara geinō e: kyōsō, hyōi, dōke (From rituals to performing arts: frenzy, possession, buffoonery) (Tokyo: Kadokawa gakugei shuppan, 2011)
Thornbury, Barbara. The Folk Performing Arts: Traditional Culture in Contemporary Japan (New York: State University of New York Press, 1997)
Togi, Masatarō. Gagaku: Court Music and Dance (New York: Weatherhill, 1971)
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