Kyoto is known as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It was the political and cultural hub of Japan for more than 1,000 years, from the Heian period (late eighth to late 12th century) through the beginning of the Meiji era (1868-1912).
Having grown up in the suburbs of Tokyo, I have been fascinated by the charms of the streets of Kyoto since I visited there on a school trip as a junior high school student. With tasteful features, the streets project an aura that makes me feel as if I had traveled back in time to centuries ago.
For two years when I was based at the Osaka headquarters of The Yomiuri Shimbun away from my family, I was lucky enough to rent a single-room apartment unit in the Shijo-Kawaramachi district in the Kyoto downtown, an hour by train from Osaka, to which I would commute. Thinking back now, those were such fun days.
Right near my residence at that time, there is an area called kagai, which serves as a base for geiko entertainers and maiko apprentices who specialize in playing the shamisen and performing dances, among other traditional arts. Currently, there are five kagai areas in Kyoto, four of which are located in and around the Shijo-Kawaramachi district.
Gion Kobu is known as the largest kagai area. Ichiriki, the teahouse that appears in one of the most popular kabuki plays, "Kanadehon Chushingura," still stands there. At the teahouse, geiko and maiko perform dances and serve customers meals and drinks. I visited Ichiriki once and spent so much money in one night that I can't even say how much. (But I had great fun.)
The dance performed by geiko and maiko in Gion Kobu is known as kyomai. It is the dance style represented by the Inoue school, which has been passed down mainly by women in Kyoto for more than 200 years.
In late November last year, the kyomai show was held for two days at the National Theatre in the Hanzomon district of Tokyo for the first time in 21 years.
Led by Inoue Yachiyo V, the iemoto grand master of the Inoue school and a living national treasure, about 60 dancers, including her disciples in the school and maiko and geiko from Gion Kobu, performed the dance on stage.
The show was so splendid that it was as if the whole district of Gion had moved to Tokyo from Kyoto, which made me worried that Kyoto itself must be bereft in the meanwhile.
I've heard that the characteristic of kyomai dancers is exhibited especially in their style of not ingratiating themselves with the audience even though they are dressed gorgeously. When dancing, they always appear expressionless, never smiling.
The kyomai choreography incorporates the movements of noh and ningyo joruri puppet plays, making it difficult to understand even to the point of looking abstract. In addition, it is usually performed in a Japanese-style tatami room, so dancers do not move sideways.
In a press conference prior to the Tokyo show, Inoue discussed kyomai, saying: "Since Kyoto's cultural spirit is not a thick and heavy ambience, kyomai suggests a rather aloof style. However, once you get used to it, it will get tastier the more you chew on it."
In other words, the kyomai dance has a profound charm, which makes you want to watch it again and again. After viewing the final performance by a full array of dancers in Tokyo, I began to miss the streets of the kagai districts in Kyoto. The city is endowed with a mystical power that attracts people, and kyomai is probably the symbol of that power.
-- Morishige covers traditional
performing arts.
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