FINAL-JAPAN

Question 1

• Indigenous religion of japan

Answer 1

Shinto Religion

Question 2

early danced worship of the Shinto religion in Japan

Answer 2

Kagura

Question 3

Miko

Answer 3

riestesses of the Shinto faith who practiced the art of stylized movement to show reverence to the forces of nature and their figural counterparts.

Question 4

Okisa

Answer 4

the force required by the reduction of the dancer’s effort through concentration and restriction

Question 5

Ma

Answer 5

Spiritual and temporal links between one movement and the next that provide continuous flow.

Question 6

Myth of Amaterasu

Answer 6

In the Shinto faith, there are two deities, or kami, who are most important to the myth of Amaterasu: Amaterasu-Omikami, the Sun Goddess, and her brother, Susano-o-no-Mikito, the God of Sea and Storms.
According to legend, Amaterasu and her brother Susano-o were rivals. When Susano-o was cast out of Heaven by his father, he went to bid his sister farewell. She was suspicious of him, so they had a contest of sincerity to see who could produce the most divine children from the other’s possession. Amaterasu made three female gods from Susano-o’s sword, while Susano-o made five male gods from Amaterasu’s jeweled necklace.
Amaterasu claimed victory because five gods were birthed from her necklace, which made Susano-o angry. He went on a rampage, destroying rice fields, defiling her throne, and throwing a flayed pony at her weaving loom, killing one of her maidens.
In grief and digust, Amaterasu-Omikami hid inside a rock cave (Ama-no-Iwato), which hid the sun and plunged the world into darkness and cold.
To convince Amaterasu to come out of the cave, Ama- no-Uzume, the kami of mirth, climbed atop an overturned wooden tub outside of the cave and began to dance. (Uzume’s dance is considered the founding of the ritual dance, kagura.)
All of the gods and goddesses began to laugh at Uzume, and Amaterasu, curious about the noise, came out of the cave. When she came out, the gods blocked her return. Surrounded by laughter, Amaterasu agreed to return her light to the world.
Amaterasu Omikami is the most important goddess of the Shinto faith. The imperial family of Japan is believed to be descended from Amaterasu, and the rising sun on the Japanese flag symbolizes the special relationship between the sun and Japan.

Question 7

Bugaku

Answer 7

world’s oldest tradition of court dance and court music

blended chinese masked dance with Kagura

Question 8

Bugaku Dance and Performance

Answer 8

– Deliberately slow, repetitive
– Two to eight dancers
– Four cardinal directions
– Repetition, layering creates intensity
• Bugaku performance:
– Imperial Palace theater
– Square platform
– Dadaiko drums on adjacent platforms
– Orchestra in alcove behind platform between Dadaiko drums

Question 9

Bugaku Costumes

Answer 9

• Long crimson or blue robes, brocade and silk leggings
• Elaborate breastplates
• Black-lacquered hats or
golden helmets
• Ceremonial swords, lances, shields
• Face masks

Question 10

Noh

Answer 10

was founded by Zeami (1363 - 1443).
• Noh originated with the warrior class in Japan In early Noh dance/drama, Japanese warriors were often performers and sometimes writers of Noh plays.

Question 11

mai

Answer 11

The trademark movement in Noh gives a floating, or unreal, effect to the movement of the dancer.
Mai comes from the gliding steps of early ladies of the royal court, which was seen as the height of elegance at the time

Question 12

Nōh Stage

Answer 12

• Modeled after Shinto temple.
• Image of the pine tree, matsubame, on the back
wall. Common to all Noh theatres.
• Building inside a building
• Four pillars, covered walkway, seating in three directions.
Originally, the stage was an outside structure.
• The back wall of the stage is called the “pine” or “mirror board” (kagami-ita). It is adorned with the image of the pine tree (Matsubame).

Question 13

Tokugawa Shogunate

Answer 13

17th century
power to keep Japan closed off from the rest of the world
hese policies of isolation made people much more interested in travel.
The military capital was in Edo
from high rank to low
– Daimyo (landowning feudal lords) – Samurai (warriors)
– Farmers
– Priests and artisans
– Merchants
– Tanners, prostitutes, Kabuki performers, etc.

Question 14

How did this affect the creation and development of Kabuki?

Answer 14

Kabuki was very popular; its popularity and the morally corruptive vice and violence it promoted led the Tokugawa Shogunate to forbid women from performing Kabuki in 1629.

Question 15

Izumo no Okuni

Answer 15

Her dances became so popular that she eventually started an all-female troupe and performed as a dancer at the famous dry riverbed of Kyoto’s Kamo River.

Question 16

onnagata

Answer 16

female impersonators,’ or the male actors who play female roles
avoid prostitution

Question 17

Movement in Kabuki

Answer 17

– From Noh, mai – the circular, sliding motion
– Odori – a folk type of movement that includes light leaps and some big jumps
– Furi – a wide range of mime
Kata – Forms or models
– Mie – “An enlarged vision shown in frozen motion that reveals heightened emotion”
– Shosogato – “posture-business”
– Aragoto – “Rough stuff”
– Wagoto – “Soft style”

Question 18

training of kabuki and noh

Answer 18

Kabuki training historically followed the “father to son” path, like Noh.

Question 19

The Kabuki Stage

Answer 19

Originally an outside stage, the Kabuki stage became housed indoors to satisfy its popularity. It was also innovative. The Kabuki stage is typically equipped with a rotating platform (mawari-butai), a geza (room off- stage for musicians), trap doors (kiri-ana or suppon), lifts (seri), and ramps (hanamichi).

Question 20

What is arguably the most important prop in Noh, also important in Kabuki?

Answer 20

sensu = fan