An Introduction to Japanese Folk Performing Arts

Japanese folk performing arts incorporate a body of entertainments that range from the ritual to the secular. They may be the ritual dances at Shinto shrines performed to summon and entertain deities; group dances to drive away disease-bearing spirits; or theatrical mime to portray the tenets of Buddhist teachings. Terence Lancashire provides a valuable introductory guide to the major performance types as understood by Japanese scholars.

Professor Terence A. Lancashire, Osaka Ohtani University, Japan

Part 1 An Outline of Japanese Folk Performing Arts; Chapter 1 Introduction '" Definitions and Classifications; Chapter 2 Ritual Music, Dance and Theatre of Shintō Shrines: Kagura; Chapter 3 Field Music: Ta no gaku (dengaku); Chapter 4 Group Dances: FuryÅ'; Chapter 5 Floats: Dashi (FuryÅ'); Chapter 6 Spoken Word and Entertainments of Celebration: Katarimono and Shukufuku Gei; Chapter 7 Entertainments of Foreign Derivation and Stage Entertainments; Chapter 8 Folk Performing Arts Today: Contemporary Contexts; Part 2 A Directory of Important Japanese Folk Performing Arts; Chapter 9 A Directory of Important Japanese Folk Performing Arts;