Filed under: JAPAN
Here’s another great Japanese record on Columbia. This wild music is called Toori Kagura Tawamure, sacred music played at Shinto festivals for Kotobuki Jishi (Lion Dance). This particular piece is Edo Kanda Bayashi.
In and around Tokyo, there are many shrines which have seasonal festivals, mainly in autumn, at which Hayashi music and folkloric dance-dramas are performed for the public. The Hayashi is generally called Matsuri Hayashi (festival Hayashi). Kanda Bayashi is one of them, which is used in the Kanda district of downtown Tokyo. The ensemble usually consists of a flute, two flat barrel drums played with two sticks, a gong and a big drum.
Here’s some visuals for you:
Kanda Bayashi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqVm3eMCjRc
Lion Dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7mupjxzFbU
Thanks once again to Mary Mariko Ohno, director of the Kabuki Academy in Tacoma, Washington, for translation and other info…these Japanese posts couldn’t have been done without her help…thanks!
