Hinokage: Nature in the Shadow of the Sun

Yokagura

夜神楽

Kagura, a series of traditional Shinto dances, is performed in a variety of forms around Japan. In Hinokage Kagura is performed on stages called ‘kagura-yado’ at shrines and in private homes to give thanks for each year's crop and pray for bountiful harvests in the future. In ‘yokagura,’ or ‘night kagura,’ all 33 dances in the traditional series are performed continuously from dusk one evening until well into the following day. As the dances progress, both dancers and their audience intermix and entertain themselves with abundant food and drink to stave off the cold of winter. In Hinokage four separate styles of kagura dancing are represented, Iwato Kagura, Shikaso Kagura, Fukasumi Kagura, and Iwaigawa Kagura, with each performed in their respective districts every year from November through February. As a result of the differing teaching styles of kagura masters, there are a number of large and small observable differences between each of these kagura styles, and even within a particular style.

Iwato Kagura

Shikaso Kagura

Fukasumi Kagura

Iwaigawa Kagura

Yokagura (Night Kagura) Performances

Kagura Performances