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35-405: Kōwakamai may have evolved from the dance form called kusemai of the 14th century, sharing its origins in traditional court dance and music with nō and kabuki . Little is actually known about how the dance was performed in the warlord to shogunate periods. A remnant of the kōwakamai is performed every year on January 20 at Tenman-jinja, a shintō shrine in Ōe. Kōwakamai (along with Noh )

70-476: A Japanese form of song and dance with a strong irregular beat - emphasis is placed on the beat at the expense of the melody. Kusemai is sometimes referred to in classical and medieval Japanese simply as mai (舞), or “dance.” While the modern Japanese kanji spelling of kusemai is 曲舞, written variants of the kanji are found in written records as 久世 舞 (kuse-mai) and 九世 舞 (kuse-mai). The “dance,” or pre-arranged physical movements of kusemai, are widely held to be

105-672: A National Historic Site . The ruins of the Chikugo Kokubun-ji was also located in the same area, and are likewise a National Historic Site. The ichinomiya of Chikugo Province is Kōra taisha , also in Kurume and is also the Sōja shrine of the province. During the Sengoku period , the shugo of the province was the Otomo clan ; however, in reality the province was controlled by 15 petty warlords, from

140-441: A long, loose fitted, pleated skirt), and tall style eboshi cap. Adult male dancers wore warrior-class garments called hitatare (直垂) in place of suikan. Dancers also held a folding fan which served as a basic performance prop. There are also performances called onna no kusemai (女曲舞) or jokyokumai (女曲舞) in which women wear the male performer's clothes and perform kusemai. The kusemai “Yamauba” and “Hyakuman” are said to be

175-472: Is a form of entertainment enjoyed by warrior-class families during Japan's medieval age. Kōwakamai performances were celebratory but also the cause for sorrow. Many of the pieces are sorrowful tales, ranging from resoundingly sympathetic tales dealing with the loss of life and defeat. The piece titled " Atsumori  [ ja ] which depicts Taira no Atsumori and Kumagai Naozane at the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani

210-418: Is especially popular for these reasons. When considering the kōwakamai lineage and the creation of kōwaka dance pieces ( 幸若舞曲 , kōwaka-bukyoku ) (the actual kōwakamai written-texts), one Momonoi Naoaki ( 桃井直詮 ) is usually accredited. Momonoi Naoaki claimed to be the grandson of Momonoi Naotsune  [ ja ] , who in turn was a descendant of Minamoto no Yoshiie . Momonoi Naoaki's childhood name

245-500: Is practiced in the town Setakamachi Ōe in Miyama City , Fukuoka Prefecture . Although almost nothing is truly known about how kōwakamai was performed at the time of its greatest popularity, performances are held annually in Japan as part of a local festival of sorts. The instrumental melodic arrangements of eight ballads as well as the method of their oral recitation have been restored by

280-642: The Battle of Okehazama , he does a choreographed dance and recites the famous lines, "Although a man may be alive on earth for fifty years, in heaven those fifty years are but an instant—a dream." This performance of "Atsumori" was also performed in Kyoto by the Kōwakamai Society in February 2009. At the same time as the Kyoto "Atsumori" performance, "Ataka" was also staged. Both performances were recorded on CD & DVD by

315-670: The Gokishichidō system, Chikugo was one of the provinces of the Saikaidō circuit. Under the Engishiki classification system, Chikugo was ranked as one of the "superior countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the "far countries" (遠国) in terms of distance from the capital. Ancient Tsukushi Province was a major power center in the Yayoi period , with contacts to the Asian mainland and may have been

350-517: The Heian Period , are so similar some scholars believe that shirabyōshi is the root of kusemai. A kusemai performance consists of a story/narrative tale and rhythmic musical accompaniment. The performer recites the narrative lines while dancing to the music [performed by separate musicians]. The dancer was either a man or a young boy ( chigo , 稚児). The young boy-dancer costume consisted of suikan (水干, Heian period -style garments), ōguchi (大口,

385-652: The Kyoto City University of the Arts' Research Centre for Japanese Traditional Music . Kusemai Kusemai (曲舞, くせまい)　is a dance-like art form originating from medieval Japan (roughly, the Kamakura and Muromachi Periods). It was particularly popular during Japan's Nanboku Period (CE1336-1392) up through the end of the rest of the Muromachi Period (CE 1336–1573). Kusemai is sometimes simply characterized as

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420-439: The "Echizen Kōwaka troupe ( Echizen Kōwaka-ryu ) ". Kōwakamai reached its peak during the 16th century when the actors received small fiefdoms ( chigyō  [ ja ] ) from warlords Oda Nobunaga , Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the like. When Tokugawa Ieyasu founded the shogunate , the clan received 300 koku of rice as stipend, and the three families took turns serving in rotation. The Daigashira School of kōwakamai

455-718: The Kamachi clan, Tajiri clan, Kuroki clan and others. Chikugo under the Tokugawa shogunate was largely dominated by Kurume Domain , ruled by the Arima clan in the north, with a smaller area under the rule of Yanagawa Domain , ruled by the Tachibana clan in the south. Following the Boshin War and the Meiji restoration , former shogunal territory was assigned to Hita Prefecture on October 13, 1868, which

490-497: The Kōwaka style. Several accounts describe how Kōwakamaru developed the new art form. His talent for shōmyō ( Buddhist chant ) being recognized, he received tutelage under the kusemai dance master Jifuku-dayū (?) ( 地福大夫 ) , beginning his lessons with Chang Liang ( 張良 , Chōryō ) and Manjū ( 満仲 ) . Or, while in Kyoto he was taught Heike in melodies similar to the Kōwaka, then devised tunes different from his master. Or that

525-658: The Kōwakamai Preservation Society in Setakamachi Ōe, Miyama City in Fukuoka Prefecture . On 20 January 2008 "Atsumori", "Takadachi", and "Yōchi Soga" were performed by the Kōwakamai Preservation Society's adult troupe. "Atsumori" was performed by the young adult troupe. And "Hamaide" and "Nihongi" were performed by the elementary school-age troupe. The tale "Atsumori" is particularly well known because of its depiction of Oda Nobunaga . Before Oda departs for

560-517: The School of Oriental and African Studies , University of London, Vol. 21, No. 1/3 (1958), pp. 100–110 Araki, James T. (1964). "The Ballad-Drama of Medieval Japan. Los Angeles: University of California Press. 「舞舞」「舞々」の呼称も確認されている。「口宣舞」の表記もある。高山（2004）など Takayama, Shigeru. (2004). "Kusemai." Shogakkan Nihon Daikyakkuka Zenshuu. Tokyo: Shogakkan. ISBN   4-09-906745-9 . Chikugo Province Chikugo Province ( 筑後国 , Chikugo-no kuni )

595-528: The art blossomed when he adapted the sōshi narrative "Yashima-gun" and set it to music, to great acclaim. Thus Momonoi Naoaki (Kōwakamaru) founded the Kōwaka troupe, and afterwards styled his clan's name as the "Kōwaka family". The family had three branches: the Hachirokurō, Yajirō, and Kohachirō, named after the founder's sons and son-in-law, and were based in Nyū district of Echizen Province, thus they have been called

630-399: The beat. Kusemai's origins are unknown but it appears to have started in the late 15th to early 16th centuries. A Muromachi Period illustration titled Shichijuuichi-ban shokunin utaawase (七十一番職人歌合) depicts a kusemai performer in contrast to another shirabyōshi (白拍子) performer. Since the garments and musical accompaniment of both kusemai and shirabyōshi, which came about at the end of

665-523: The combined Silla and Tang China forces at the Battle of Hakusonko , decided to establish Dazaifu as a regional military and civil administrative center, and after the Taika Reforms and the establishment of the Ritsuryō system in 701, Tsukushi Province was divided into Chikuzen and Chikugo Provinces. The kokufu of Chikugo was located in what is now part of the city of Kurume , and its ruins are now

700-418: The early period, kōwakamai was not starkly distinguishable from the kusemai: both involved two players and both were apparently interchangeably called "two person dance ( 二人舞 , nininmai ) , or simply "dance ( 舞 , mai ) . The surviving kōwakamai (the form transmitted in the Ōe region) involves three players, the principal tayū and two supporting actors named waki , and shite . The principal and

735-425: The oldest performances of kusemai, having been transmitted from time immemorial to the present. Also, kōwakamai , which is sometimes considered a style of kusemai, is known to have been created sometime in the Muromachi Period and has been passed down to the present day. Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Kan'ami" "The Structure of Kusemai" [Qu] [wu] P. G. O'Neill, Bulletin of

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770-549: The performance style and transmitted the art form to the lords and their vassals. That style of kōwakamai became Ōe kōwakamai. In the early parts of the Edo period , kōwakamai performances were given annually at the court of the shogunate. But the art had gone into obscurity by the Genroku era (1688–1704), and had fallen into complete oblivion by the Meiji period in the 19th century. The Daigashira School Ōe kōwakamai has been transmitted to

805-412: The present day, surviving in the Ōe district of Miyama, Fukuoka . (See §Restoring the kōwakamai art below). Many kōwakamai pieces represent variations of tales found in other texts and genres. However, the kōwakamai versions contain variations such as shortening or extending the dramatic prose of given scenes within an episode. Kōwakamai originally had "sanjūroku-ban" ( 三十六番 ) thirty-six numbers in

840-399: The root of kōwakamai ’s dance-element. The type of music that accompanies the kusemai performance particularly flourished around Kyoto and Nara , in the 14th and 15th centuries. The name can be roughly translated as "peculiar/unconventional dance." Although dance was originally involved with the performance, it was of minor importance, and probably involved the performer simply stamping

875-489: The same thing as kōwakamai, or, a "transitional" form approaching it. Scholars say this is kusemai performed by men is of a "different order" from the dance which is otherwise known as kusemai , namely, the courtesan dance as described by Zeami , or a dance show primarily featuring physically attractive women and boys. The Japanese government has designated kōwakamai to be an intangible cultural heritage (ICH) ( 重要無形民俗文化財 , jūyōmukei minzoku bunkazai ) . The folk custom

910-569: The site for the Kingdom of Yamatai mentioned in official Chinese dynastic Twenty-Four Histories for the 1st- and 2nd-century Eastern Han dynasty , the 3rd-century Records of the Three Kingdoms , and the 6th-century Book of Sui . During the Kofun period , many burial mounds were constructed and the area was ruled by a powerful clan who held the title of "Tsukushi no kuni no miyatsuko ". The area

945-479: The standard repertoire. Anecdotally, there were thirty-six otogi-zōshi storybooks at the imperial court that the founder set to music. But according to one genealogical document, a larger number of pieces were culled to a canon of thirty-six pieces during the time of Kohachirō. The standard thirty-six texts were also later wood-block printed in storybooks called Texts for Kōwaka dances ( 『舞の本』」 , Mai no hon ) . There were outside-the-canon pieces added, raising

980-422: The supporters were dressed alike, a suwō  [ ja ] top, long version of the hakama trouser, and no mask, but they wore different types of eboshi  [ ja ] hats. The kōwakamai performers do not impersonate characters, and do not "act", they merely narrate the lines spoken by the personae dramatis. Also there are no choreographic movements involved that can be recognized as "dance" in

1015-418: The total to forty-two pieces. Some fifty total texts survive today. For argument's sake kōwakamai fall into the following categories: Ancient tales, Minamoto tales, Heike tales, Yoshitsune tales, Soga tales, and miscellaneous tales. Evidentiary documentation is too sparse to provide any detail on how kōwakamai was performed in its inception or during its heyday in the late 16th to the early 17th centuries. In

1050-478: The usual European sense. Kōwakamai is often assumed to have developed from the kusemai , although some commentators do not think this is firmly established. One basis of making the connection are the records stating kusemai being performed by a certain "Kōwaka-tayū" of Tanaka Village in Echizen Providence. This plausibly referred to Kōwakamaru or one of his immediate successors, so the dance must have been

1085-504: Was "Kōwakamaru" ( 幸若丸 ) , from which it is said the term "kōwakamai" gets its name. Kōwakamaru was born in Nyū district , Echizen Province . After his father's death he entered Mt. Hiei (probably Enryaku-ji temple). At age 16, he accompanied the chief priest of Enryaku-ji ( 天台座主 , tendai zasu ) to the imperial court in Kyoto, and then became employed by the court by Retired Emperor Shōkō 's decree. In Kyoto, his talents in music and dance became renowned, and eventually initiated

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1120-423: Was a province of Japan in the area of northern Kyūshū , corresponding to part of southwestern Fukuoka Prefecture . Chikugo bordered on Higo and Chikugo to the southeast, and Chikuzen to the north and east, Bungo to the east and Hizen to the west. Its abbreviated form name was Chikushū ( 筑州 ) (a name which it shared with Chikuzen Province), although it was also called Chikuin ( 筑陰 ) . In terms of

1155-471: Was founded by Yamamoto Shirozaemon ( 山本四郎左衛門 ) , who learned the art from Kōwaka Yajirō Naoshige. Shirozaemon passed the art to his disciple Mukadeya Zenbē ( 百足屋善兵衛 ) then to Ōsawa Jisuke Yukitsugu ( 大沢次助幸次 ) . In Tenshō 10 (1582 CE) Yukitsugu was invited to Kyūshū by the lord of Chikugo Province 's Yamashita Castle, Kamachi Shigeharu/Shigeyuki ( 蒲池鎮運 ) , and his cousin, the lord of Yanagawa Castle, Kamachi Shigenami  [ ja ] where he taught

1190-464: Was merged with Nagasaki Prefecture two weeks later. On November 11, 1868, Shimotedo Domain in Mutsu Province relocated its seat to Chikugo, and restored Miike Domain . With the abolition of the han system on December 25, 1871, Kurume, Yanagawa and Miike became prefectures, which were then united as "Mizuma Prefecture". On August 21, 1876, Mizuma Prefecture and merged into Fukuoka Prefecture. Per

1225-510: Was the launching point for Empress Jingu 's purported conquest of Korea, and was the settlement area for many toraijin immigrants from China, Silla and Baekje . In 527, the Iwai Rebellion between rival factions supporting Silla against Yamato rule occurred. In 531, the priest Zensho arrived from Northern Wei and established Shugendo . In 663, the Yamato government, which was defeated by

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