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Kagura

The Kagura Dancer, by Suzuki Harunobu. Edo period, c. 1766

Kagura (神楽(かぐら), "god-entertainment") is a type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance. The term is a contraction of the phrase kami no kura ("seat of god"), indicating the presence of gods (kami) in the practice.

One major function of kagura is chinkon (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 the god during the performance.[1] Once strictly a ceremonial art derived from kamigakari (神懸, "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.[2][self-published source]

  1. ^ Averbuch, Irit (1998). "Shamanic Dance in Japan: The Choreography of Possession in Kagura Performance". Asian Folklore Studies. 57 (2): 293–329. doi:10.2307/1178756. ISSN 0385-2342. JSTOR 1178756.
  2. ^ Petersen, David (2007). Invitation to Kagura: Hidden Gem of the Traditional Japanese Performing Arts. Morrisville: Lulu Press.

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