Kurokawa N?: Shaping the Image and Perception of Japan?s Folk Traditions, Performing Arts and Rural Tourism

by Eike Grossmann

Overview

In the 1960s, Kurokawa’s historic nō tradition, as theatre and festival, came under the spotlight of the Japanese public. Advertised as ‘secret nō of the snow country’ it soon became one of the most well-known and long-studied folk performing arts traditions. That a secluded village isolated by mountainous country around it should have developed and sustained a high cultural entertainment such as nō theatre and integrated it into Shinto shrine festivals, prompted considerable interest among folklore scholars, theatre researchers, politicians, and tourists alike. Even today Kurokawa nō continues to be regarded as an example of an earlier form of Japanese culture and folk tradition that essentially has been frozen in time over the course of many centuries.

In this volume, the author provides a detailed record of the history and development of Kurokawa nō and the processes of its transmission over the generations. The author also examines its impact on the wider cultural life of Japan and its literary heritage, the travel industry, government policy and folklore traditions in Japan generally. In addition, Kurokawa Nō offers an invaluable, authentic case study in the wider context of notions of Japanese self-perception and self-representation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789004223349
Publisher:	Brill Academic Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/28/2013
Pages:	364
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Eike Grossmann, Ph.D. (2008) in Japanese Studies, University of Trier, is Assistant Professor at Hamburg University. She specializes on literature and culture of medieval Japan and Japanese performance traditions, in particular nō theatre and folk performing arts.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations xi

List of Maps li

Acknowledgements lix

Abbreviations lxi

Notes on Translation and Transliteration lxiii

Notes Regarding Dates lxv

Introduction 1

The Village of Kurokawa and Kurokawa No-A Brief Outline 9

Geographical Data 9

Village Structure and Inhabitants 11

Kurokawa's Festivals 13

Kurokawa No as a Cultural Property and Challenges for the Village Community 14

Materials, Sources, and Data on Kurokawa No 17

Outline of the Chapters 19

1 Historical Development of Kurokawa No 25

Routes of Transmission-Kurokawa No, Shugendo, and No Theatre 25

Early History of Kurokawa No-The Legends 30

Kurokawa No During the Edo Period 34

The Patronage of the Daimyo of Shonai-Performances in Tsuruoka Castle 34

Benefit No (kaicho no) and other Performances 37

Making a Difference-Kurokawa No and Performances of other Troupes 42

Edo Period Village Life and the Meaning of the Shrine Guild 44

Preserving an 'Authentic Tradition'-Disputes within the Village 46

Kurokawa and the Village Administration of the Domain 50

Kurokawa No during the Meiji and Taisho Periods 53

Changes in the Wake of the Meiji Restoration (1868) 53

Performances Outside the Village Since the Meiji Period 56

2 Contemporary Village Structure and Forms of Representation 61

Kurokawa's Shrine Guild and the No Guilds 62

Guild Membership and Guild Leadership 65

Hereditary Positions 68

Households and Individuals 73

Mediating and Competitive Aspects between the Lower and the Upper Guild 75

Village Life and the Festivals 78

Men-Actors and Musicians 79

Women-'Invisible' Supporters 83

Children and Young Actors 86

Community Life as a Rite de Passage 88

The House of Office of the Fan Festival 89

3 Festivals and Events of Kurokawa No 97

Festivals and Folk Traditions 98

Meaning, Structure and Organization-A Brief Definition 98

Approaching Festival Time from a No Theatre Perspective 105

Festival 'Stages'-The Kasuga Shrine and the Ogisai 108

The Fan Festival 112

The Beginning of the Festival and the 'Climbing up to the Shrine' 112

Preparing the Tofu and the Mirror Rice Cakes, Inviting the Deities and Receiving a Messenger from the House of Office 114

The Descent of the Deities and their Arrival at the Houses of Office 117

Preparing the Divine Symbols, Banquets, and the Assembly of the Guilds 120

Preparing the No Stage at the House of Office and the All-night Performances 123

Heading back to the Shrine, Performances and Competitions in the Shrine 127

Other Rituals of the Ogisai 132

Staging the Community and Self-representation During the Fan Festival 133

Smaller Annual Shrine Festivals 137

Decreasing Participation and Shifting Meanings 139

Participating in Events-Maintaining a 'Sacred' Image 143

The Candle No and the No on Water-Attempts to Attract more Visitors 146

4 Kurokawa NO as a Folk Performing Art 153

Notions of Folk Performing Arts and their Terminology 154

The Academic Discourse 154

Defining a Folk Performing Art 158

The 'Essence' of Folk Performing Arts 161

Classification Systems-Categorizing Kurokawa No 166

Governmental Preservation Measures-Kurokawa No as a Cultural Property 171

The Cultural Properties Protection Law and the Festival Law 174

The Academic Discourse on the Protection of Cultural Properties 179

(Re)Acting as a Cultural Property 183

Preservation Societies (hozonkai) and New Transmission Spaces 183

Preserving an Authentic' Performance Style-The Example of Kurokawa Kyogen 190

5 Tourist Images of Kurokawa No 197

Cultural Tourism in Japan 198

Defining Cultural Tourism, Cultural Tourists and the Tourist Gaze 203

Cultural Tourism, Authenticity, and Nostalgia 209

'Hometowns' (Furusato) as Tourist Sites and Tourist Campaigns 212

Folk Performing Arts and Tourism 216

Nostalgic Notions of Kurokawa No 223

The Heal' and 'Authentic' Kurokawa No 223

Types of Visitors 226

Visitors to the Fan Festival 229

Participating at the House of Office-Creating a static Audience 232

Impact of Tourist Visits on Kurokawa No 236

Conclusion 245

Appendices

1 Performances of Kurokawa No Outside the Village During the Edo Period 261

2 Regular Performances of Kurokawa No 263

3 Flow Chart of the Ogisai 265

4 The Ogikoisai of 1843 267

5 Awards for the Community of Kurokawa 269

6 Honda Yasuji's Classification System of Folk Performing Arts 271

7 Categories of Cultural Properties 273

Bibliography 275

Index 293