Buyō

A geisha in Kyoto performing a buyō dance

Buyō (舞踊), or Nichibu (日舞) short for Nihon buyō/Nippon buyō (日本舞踊) meaning Japanese dance,[1] refers to a traditional Japanese performing art that may be a mixture of dance and pantomime. It begins with early dance traditions such as mai and odori, with major development in the early Edo period (early 17th century) in the form of kabuki dances, which incorporated elements from the older dance genres.[2] While performed independently by specialists, it is particularly conspicuous as the style of dancing performed by geisha.

The term buyō however is a modern coinage during the Meiji period as a general term for "dance". Prior to this, dance was generally referred to by various dance genres such as mai and odori. The term is a combination of mai (舞, which can also be pronounced bu) and odori (踊, can also be pronounced yō).[3]

Influences and components

Nihon buyō differs from other Japanese traditional dances in that it is intended for entertainment on stage.[1] Nihon buyō is a refined dance that has been improved throughout four centuries.[1] There are four main parts to Nihon buyō, the most significant being kabuki buyō.[1] The kabuki dances are based on earlier dance traditions, and have three principal aspects, mai, odori, and furi (gestures), also incorporating michiyuki borrowed from bunraku dance scenes. The kabuki buyō started in the early 17th century, grew within the framework of the kabuki theatre and became fully developed in the late 17th through mid 18th century by onnagata.[2] The second part of Nihon buyō is noh.[1] Nihon buyō takes a few key elements from noh such as the circular movements and the tools used in its dances. The third component are the folk dances; the spinning and jumping used in folk dances was incorporated into Nihon buyō. The last part is the influences from European and American culture that is found in Japan today.[1] Shin buyō (新舞踊, new dance) where contemporary popular music may be used, was also developed, and in the mid 20th century performers, choreographers, non-kabuki dance masters including geishas created experimental shin buyō dance groups.[2]

Sparrow dance

The sparrow dance (雀踊り suzume odori) is a dance based on the fluttering movements of the Eurasian tree sparrow.[4] It was first performed, improvised, by stonemasons who were constructing Sendai Castle for the daimyo Date Masamune. The emblem of the Date clan incorporates two tree sparrows. The sparrow dance is now performed yearly in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture at the Aoba festival in mid-May.[4] School children in Miyagi prefecture learn and perform the sparrow dance, especially during the Obon Festival.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 What is nihon buyo? at the Wayback Machine (archived July 7, 2006)
  2. 1 2 3 Samuel L. Leiter (1 October 2014). Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 55 – 57. ISBN 978-1442239104.
  3. ↑ Oshima, Mark (29 June 2009). Sandra Buckley, ed. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture. Routledge. p. 75. ISBN 978-0415481526.
  4. 1 2 Sendai Suzume Odori (Sendai Sparrow Dance ). Aoba-matsuri.com. Retrieved on 2012-03-13.

External links

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