Kagura

"god-entertainment" is a type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance. The term is a contraction of the phrase "seat of god", indicating the presence of gods (kami) in the practice. One major function of kagura is purifying and shaking the spirit, involving a procession-trance process. Usually a female shaman will perform the dance and obtain the oracle from the god—in the setting, the dancer herself turns into god during the performance. Once strictly a ceremonial art derived from "oracular divinification", kagura has evolved in many directions over the span of more than a millennium. Today, it is very much a living tradition, with rituals tied to the rhythms of the agricultural calendar, thriving primarily in parts of Shimane Prefecture, and urban centers such as Hiroshima. There are two major types of kagura: mai and odori. Mai consists of slow circular movement, stressing quiet and elegance, while odori consists of quick leaping and jumping, stressing activation and energy. The two types can be understood as two phases of kagura: mai is a preparation process for trance and odori is the unconscious trance stage. During mai, the female shaman, surrounded by a group of priests, holds a gohei (a ceremonial wand used to cleanse or purify) as well as sound-producing instruments and engages with circling movement to summon deities. Once the female shaman enters a possessed state, she switches into the spontaneous leaping movements of odori. The epics Kojiki and Nihon Shoki describe a folktale origin for the dances. In these texts, there is a famous legendary tale about the sun goddess Amaterasu, who retreated into a cave, bringing darkness and cold to the world. Ame-no-Uzume, goddess of the dawn and of revelry, led the other gods in a wild dance, and persuaded Amaterasu to emerge to see what the ruckus was all about. Kagura is one of a number of rituals and arts said to derive from this event. Originally called 神座, kagura began as sacred dances performed at the Imperial court by shrine maidens who were supposedly descendants of Ame-no-Uzume.