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

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. Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Illustrations 12 List of Maps 52 Acknowledgements 60 Abbreviations 62 Notes on Translation and Transliteration 64 Notes Regarding Dates 66 Introduction 67 The Village of Kurokawa and Kurokawa Nō—A Brief Outline 75 Geographical Data 75 Village Structure and Inhabitants 77 Kurokawa’s Festivals 79 Kurokawa Nō as a Cultural Property and Challenges for the Village Community 80 Materials, Sources, and Data on Kurokawa Nō 83 Outline of the Chapters 85 1. Historical Development of Kurokawa Nō 90 Routes of Transmission—Kurokawa Nō, Shugendō, and Nō Theatre 90 Early History of Kurokawa Nō—The Legends 95 Kurokawa Nō during the Edo Period 99 The Patronage of the Daimyō of Shōnai—Performances in Tsuruoka Castle 99 Benefit Nō (kaichō nō) and Other Performances 102 Making a Difference—Kurokawa Nō and Performances of other Troupes 107 Edo Period Village Life and the Meaning of the Shrine Guild 109 Preserving an ‘Authentic Tradition’—Disputes within the Village 111 Kurokawa and the Village Administration of the Domain 115 Kurokawa Nō during the Meiji and Taishō Periods 118 Changes in the Wake of the Meiji Restoration (1868) 118 Performances Outside the Village Since the Meiji Period 121 2. Contemporary Village Structure and Forms of Representation 126 Kurokawa’s Shrine Guild and the Nō Guilds 127 Guild Membership and Guild Leadership 130 Hereditary Positions 133 Households and Individuals 138 Mediating and Competitive Aspects between the Lower and the Upper Guild 140 Village Life and the Festivals 143 Men—Actors and Musicians 144 Women—‘Invisible’ Supporters 148 Children and Young Actors 151 Community Life as a Rite de Passage 153 The House of Office of the Fan Festival 154 3. Festivals and Events of Kurokawa Nō 161 Festivals and Folk Traditions 162 Meaning, Structure and Organization—A Brief Definition 162 Approaching Festival Time from a Nō Theatre Perspective 169 Festival ‘Stages’—The Kasuga Shrine and the Ōgisai 172 The Fan Festival 176 The Beginning of the Festival and the ‘Climbing up to the Shrine’ 176 Preparing the Tōfu and the Mirror Rice Cakes, Inviting the Deities and Receiving a Messenger from the House of Office 178 The Descent of the Deities and their Arrival at the Houses of Office 181 Preparing the Divine Symbols, Banquets, and the Assembly of the Guilds 184 Preparing the Nō Stage at the House of Office and the All-night Performances 187 Heading back to the Shrine, Performances and Competitions in the Shrine 191 Other Rituals of the Ōgisai 196 Staging the Community and Self-representation During the Fan Festival 197 Smaller Annual Shrine Festivals 201 Decreasing Participation and Shifting Meanings 203 Participating in Events—Maintaining a ‘Sacred’ Image 207 The Candle Nō and the Nō on Water—Attempts to Attract more Visitors 210 4. Kurokawa Nō as a Folk Performing Art 217 Notions of Folk Performing Arts and their Terminology 218 The Academic Discourse 218 Defining a Folk Performing Art 222 The ‘Essence’ of Folk Performing Arts 225 Classification Systems—Categorizing Kurokawa Nō 230 Governmental Preservation Measures—Kurokawa Nō as a Cultural Property 235 The Cultural Properties Protection Law and the Festival Law 238 The Academic Discourse on the Protection of Cultural Properties 243 (Re)Acting as a Cultural Property 247 Preservation Societies (hozonkai) and New Transmission Spaces 247 Preserving an ‘Authentic’ Performance Style—The Example of Kurokawa Kyōgen 254 5. Tourist Images of Kurokawa Nō 260 Cultural Tourism in Japan 261 Defining Cultural Tourism, Cultural Tourists and the Tourist Gaze 266 Cultural Tourism, Authenticity, and Nostalgia 272 ‘Hometowns’ (Furusato) as Tourist Sites and Tourist Campaigns 275 Folk Performing Arts and Tourism 279 Nostalgic Notions of Kurokawa Nō 286 The ‘Real’ and ‘Authentic’ Kurokawa Nō 286 Types of Visitors 289 Visitors to the Fan Festival 292 Participating at the House of Office—Creating a static Audience 295 Impact of Tourist Visits on Kurokawa Nō 299 Conclusion 308 Appendices 323 1. Performances of Kurokawa Nō Outside the Village During the Edo Period 323 2. Regular Performances of Kurokawa Nō 325 3. Flow Chart of the Ōgisai 327 4. The Ōgi kōisai of 1843 329 5. Awards for the Community of Kurokawa 331 6. Honda Yasuji’s Classification System of Folk Performing Arts 333 7. Categories of Cultural Properties 335 Bibliography 336 Index 354 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. By Eike Grossmann. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In the 1960s, Kurokawa¿́¿s historic no¿¿ tradition, as theatre and festival, came under the spotlight of the Japanese public. Advertised as ¿́¿secret no¿¿ 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 no¿¿ theatre and integrated it into Shinto shrine festivals, prompted considerable interest among folklore scholars, theatre researchers, politicians, and tourists alike. Even today Kurokawa no¿¿ 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 no¿¿ 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 No¿¿ offers an invaluable, authentic case study in the wider context of notions of Japanese self-perception and self-representation This study contains a detailed record of the history and development of Kurokawa Nō, the processes of its transmission over the generations and its impact on the wider cultural life of Japan. Kurokawa Nō also offers an invaluable, authentic case study in the wider context of notions of Japanese self-perception and self-representation This study contains a detailed record of the history and development of Kurokawa no, the processes of its transmission over the generations and its impact on the wider cultural life of Japan. Kurokawa No also offers an invaluable, authentic case study in the wider context of notions of Japanese self-perception and self-representation.