Introducing Mikagura - Centro Studi Darśana

Andrea Giolai (Cà Foscari University of Venice)
Introducing Mikagura 御神楽
Some Ethnomusicological Features of an Ancient Japanese Ritual
Introduction
A very ancient and much revered example of ritual music, the Mikagura no Gi 御神楽の儀 is part
of the repertoire performed at the Japanese Imperial Court. Dating from at least the 10th century of
the Christian Era, the ritual has remained ever since at the core of the most important musical
occasions revolving around the figure of the Emperor, together with other autochthonous pieces
known as wagaku 和楽 or “Japanese music” (Nelson 2008; Sestili 2000). In this context, the place
occupied by the Mikagura no Gi appears to be peculiar: having inherited a long history of almost
uninterrupted performance (it is the only shintō 神道 ritual that has survived the Ōnin war 応仁の
乱 of the 16th century (Sestili 1996, 36)), it is nonetheless an example of how music can take on
different ideological nuances over time (Harich-Schneider 1957; 1973). More importantly, the
Mikagura no Gi epitomizes the intermingling of two broad categories in all Japanese performing
arts: gagaku 雅楽 and kagura 神楽, and can raise sharp questions concerning the methodological
investigation of both.
Figure 1 A Performance of Mikagura (Garfias 1975, 330)
Using the analytical standpoint of Ethnomusicology (Merriam 1964; Myers 1992; 1993), the
contents and context of the ritual will be presented, suggesting that a more inclusive understanding
of the object of historical ethnomusicological study can be helpful in the overall comprehension of
present musical performances and their changes. Without covering a detailed diachronic account of
the major developments in the form of the ceremony, a few relevant points that can arise from the
joint consideration of music and ritual in the study of Japanese court music will be sketched. The
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Mikagura no Gi constitutes a very interesting instance of how music can become a privileged
starting point for the analysis of complex rituals and social phenomena. For this reason, a more
detailed examination of the data outlined in the present article could serve the purposes of in-depth,
cross-cultural, interdisciplinary inquiry. Such an undertaking would fruitfully bring together such
topics as ritual and religious studies, history of Japanese music, the anthropology of performance
and ethnomusicology.
The Ritual and Musical Context
Since the purpose of this article is to present the ceremony called Mikagura no Gi 御神楽の儀 in
the light and through the analytical lens of Ethnomusicology, it seems appropriate to begin with a
brief exposition of its ritual contents and of the place this rite occupies in the broader framework of
Japanese court music, gagaku 雅楽.1
The music connected with shintō 神道 rituals has been commonly labelled kagura 神楽, a term
generically referred to the music performed at local shrines mostly on calendric occasions called
matsuri 祭り (Raveri 2006; Honda 1969). However, according to a more specific classification, this
repertoire can be divided into two major subgroups that coincide with a different performing type:
satokagura 里神楽 and mikagura 御神楽 (Honda 1969, 82-83; Konishi 1957) While the former is
commonly identified with the local (or ‘folk’) expression of shintō faith (and thus is synonymous of
the general term kagura), the latter has been thought of as the particular type of shintō ritual music
that took and still takes place inside the court.2 Moreover, when considered from the point of view
of the kind of music performed rather than its religious connections, the second group (mikagura) is
part of the so-called kuniburi no utamai 国風歌舞, “songs and dances of regional/national3 style,”
by virtue of its autochthonous origin and as opposed to tōgaku 唐楽 and komagaku 高麗楽 music
(imported respectively from China and from various Asian countries, with a predominance of
Korean pieces). Tōgaku, komagaku and kuniburi no utamai make up one possible way of
classifying gagaku music4 (Kishibe 1996, 39; Sestili 1996, 13-14). As a subgenre of gagaku, the
1
Scholars are now well aware of the amplitude of the term gagaku, an umbrella-term which comprises music with different
geographical, historical and artistic roots (Sestili, 1996).
2
Konishi Jin’ichi 小西甚一 has proposed to modify the terminology referring to the Kagurauta sung in the Imperial Court as
kyūkagurauta 宮神楽歌, thus underlying its noble character (1957). However, Konishi’s terminology remains anchored to the
opposition between court and village ritual (satokagura).
3
The translation of the term 国風 (kokufū or kuniburi) depends on the different understandings of the character 国. In fact, if the
general label kuniburi no utamai was applied by the Japanese in order to identify these songs and dances as ‘national,’ i.e. Japanese,
than it would make sense to translate it as ‘national.’ But if, on the other hand, we consider it a historical definition, than the
character refers to the various kingdoms that made up the confederation known as Yamato 大和 (Piggot 1998). In the latter case, it
would be more precise to translate the term as ‘regional’.
4
A different classification consists in the distinction between instrumental music (kangen 管弦) and music performed together with
dance (bugaku 舞楽) (Sestili 1996).
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term kuniburi indicates that these music and dances were originally performed by local clans
residing at the outskirts of the Yamato 大和 kingdom, and therefore can be said to maintain an
“autochthonous character,” as indicated both by the very use of the term kuniburi and by the label
wagaku 和 楽 (Japanese music) (Masumoto 1978; Garfias 1968). The intricacy of these
classifications is by itself a point of evidence of Japanese court music’s intermingling nature: very
often, this repertoire can be situated both in the context of performing arts and of ritual activities.
This tension between musical categories (gagaku) and ritual ones (kagura) is most evident in the
case of the Mikagura no Gi, as we will see shortly.
As for the kuniburi no utamai, it is comprised by four cycles which present both instrumental pieces
and dances:
1. Kagura uta 神楽歌 (Ninjō mai 人長舞);
2. Yamato uta 大和歌 (Yamato mai 大和舞/倭舞);
3. Azuma asobi 東遊 (Suruga mai 駿河舞, Motomego mai 求子舞);
4. Kume uta 久米歌 (Kume mai 久米舞) (Sestili 1996, 32).
Although these cycles are not always performed in conjunction with a specific ritual, they usually
retain a connection with definite religious ceremonies incorporated in the yearly calendar followed
at court (nenjūgyōji 年中行事). This distinctive correspondence of rituals and musical cycles is one
of the main reasons why the scholar Masumoto Kikuko 増本喜久子 (1938-) has chosen not to
discuss kuniburi no utamai together with gagaku, but to treat it as a separate topic (1978, 299). In
other words, Masumoto advanced the argument that an entire section of court music presents so
many peculiarities that it is possible (and even appropriate) to conceptually separate it from the rest
of the corpus.
According to the Japanese scholar, kuniburi no utamai music has the specificity of being functional,
or to ‘follow’ and ‘go along’ (shitagau 従う) with the rituals (1978, 299). Moreover, she refers to
the pieces as jōdai utamai 上 代 歌 舞 or ‘ancient songs and dances,’ and reflects on this
denomination:
｢上代歌舞｣は、その名称が示すように、｢上代｣すなわち中国の文化がわが国に渡来する奈良・平安
時代よりも古いところに超元をもつ音楽とされ、事実その楽器編成も、これまでにみてきた舞楽や
管弦のそれとは異なっている
“These ‘ancient songs and dances,’ as their name indicates, refer to music that carries on a very old character,
older than the Nara and Heian periods in which Chinese culture was introduced in Japan; in fact, the
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organization of the musical instruments is no doubt different from that of the bugaku and kangen pieces that
we have seen so far” (1978, 299).
Since ancient times, the Japanese must have been aware of such a difference, judging by the fact
that during the centuries the various institutionalizations of gagaku music retained a distinction
between an institutional Department devoted to foreign music and another one specifically
dedicated to the preservation of the Japanese repertoire: as early as the 8th century, the main
Departments of music were the Gagakuryō 雅楽寮 for tōgaku and komagaku and the Ōutadokoro
大歌所 for autochthonous music or wagaku (Sestili 1996; Kishibe 1996; Lam 2006). Ancient
institutional structures thus seem to validate and mirror the perception of a working difference
between autochthonous and imported music that appears to have been well active in ancient times.
How outwardly the difference was perceived and how it effectively translated into the musical
practice is a matter of debate and might remain an unsolved issue, given the scarcity of detailed
musical notations dating from before the Kamakura period 鎌倉時代 (1185-1333 CE) (Nelson
2002). Nonetheless, the fact that over time this music eventually came to be collected under the
homogeneous category of gagaku is itself a point of interest that can be relevant to the question of
how the Japanese constituted and transformed their idea of “traditional court music.”5
Even beyond the matter of how kuniburi no utamai has been classified, however, there are certain
elements that can be cited without hesitation as musically significant divergences from the
“mainland repertoire”: first of all, different instruments are used in the performance (see Nelson
2008, 50); secondly, a distinctive vocal technique is used; moreover, there is an apparent absence of
the “suite structure” so typical of the tōgaku repertoire; finally, a connection with the Japanese
poetic tradition can be sensed and may be thought of as a source of inspiration and as a model for
the texts sung 6 (Rodd 1984; Sagiyama 2000; Konishi 1957; Ozawa 1971). In light of these
peculiarities, and even without venturing into a detailed examination of them, there should be
evidence for the need of approaching the kuniburi no utamai from a distinct perspective than the
one usually employed in the analysis of gagaku music as a whole.
Moving into the ritual dimension of the kuniburi no utamai repertoire, it is important to
acknowledge the complex interrelationship that ties this music to two different aspects of Japanese
ritual life: kagura and matsuri. We have already seen some general features of the first, namely the
5
Moreover, while the official constitution of gagaku music as a whole might be the result of Meiji period reforms (1868-1912), it
would be interesting to consider how the Japanese perceive the difference between its various branches (Harich-Schneider 1957).
6
This element is most evident in the affinity between the texts of the Kagurauta and those of the poetic anthologies Man’yōshū 万葉
集 and Kokinwakashū 古今和歌集.
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overlapping of the meaning of kagura when referred to local shintō celebrations (satokagura) and
when referred to ceremonial court music (mikagura). In the latter case, it is useful to further
distinguish between this rather imprecise use of the term from a more specific one that
unambiguously indicates one of the four kuniburi no utamai cycles: the Kagurauta or Mikagura no
Gi (Sestili 2000). In order to present this cycle, it is useful to point out some characteristics that are
common to all the aforementioned phenomena classified as ‘kagura.’
Because scholars do not always agree on what the core characteristics of kagura are, a certain
degree of confusion can easily arise when dealing with such phenomena as Mikagura no Gi and
local kagura. Definitions span from those that stress ritual and even magical contents to more
encompassing ones that revolve around the study of performing arts. Irit Averbuch, for instance,
defines kagura as follows: “like folk religion almost everywhere, it places its main emphasis on
ritual and practice rather than on ideas and doctrines, is distinctly magico-religious in character and
preserves the most ancient shamanic layers of the native religion” (1995, 3). Sestili, on the other
hand, conceives it as “any ritual action constituted by an invocation to the god and a real
performance which aims at fortifying the energy of the participants” (2000, 28 my translation).
A working definition, however, should be found somewhere in between the two: while Sestili’s
explanation appears to be too broad and could just as easily be used to describe Buddhist ritual acts
and other religious manifestations that do not fall into the domain of highly organized religions (e.g.
Shugendō 修験道 practices), Averbuch’s fails to include the essential elements of invocation and
celebration of the divinity. Therefore, we will talk about kagura in terms of a religious action that is
framed by the so-called shintō cults and has the distinctive ‘structure,’ or, to use Gioia Ottaviani’s
expression, ‘ritual script’ of invocation-and- celebration (1994, 33).
The combination of summoning a divine manifestation and amusing it through a performance is
inscribed into the characters that constitute the very word kagura (神楽): according to the most
borne out theory, the term would be the result of the contraction of kamu 神 and kura 座.7 The first
part of the word is the ancient form of kami (神), the second means ‘dwelling place.’ The great
scholar Honda Yasuji 本田安次 (1902-2001) is considered the main advocate of this etymology.
However, his opinion on the supposedly original ancient word (gogen 語源) kamukura does not
point to anything specific: as he stated, “it is best to think of it simply as the place where the kami
resides” (Honda 1969, 59). Moreover, the fact that the word was written with the character that
7
Usuda Jingorō has noted that the process of contraction is similar to the one that brought from fumite, to funde and lastly fude (筆).
The contractions of the sounds in /kagura/ are indeed very similar: kamikura kangura kagura (Usuda 1976, 13).
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indicates ‘music and dance’ (gaku/raku 樂 ) led to the common translation of the term as
‘entertainment of the kami.’
All forms of kagura, including its court version, share a mythical origin: they all refer to the passage
of the Kojiki 古事記 (712) known as the heavenly rock-cave (ame no iwato 天岩屋戸) as their
founding episode. This narrates the self-seclusion of Amaterasu Ōmikami 天照大神 into a cave in
response to the misdeeds of her brother Susanowo no Mikoto 建速須佐之男命 and the subsequent
plan devised by the other gods in order to bring Amaterasu back, restoring the light to the human’s
world. The plan consisted in a dance executed by Ame no Uzume no mikoto 天宇受売命 which
aroused the curiosity of the goddess and finally managed to let her out. It is this dance which is
regarded as the first occurrence of kagura and its prototype. As Irit Averbuch has stated, “the
original divine kagura which was performed in the heavenly plain is considered to be the origin and
prototype of all Japanese rituals as well as performing arts” (1995, 1). The reason, according to
Gioia Ottaviani, is to be found in its “power to exemplify a circumstance when the communicative
efficacy of the body's action sustained by music, vocality and participation is fully displayed” (1994,
21). There is no doubt that the episode represents the main mythical reference present in the ritual:
as a matter of fact, we can see a direct relationship to the present Mikagura no Gi as performed by
the Imperial Court Musicians “in the use of the sakaki [榊] bush, which is now considered a sacred
adjunct to all shintō rituals” (Garfias 1968, 2).
However, it is worth remembering that in the case of the mythical origin of kagura it would be
better to talk about “ritual foundation of the myth,” rather than “mythical foundation of the ritual”
(Bell 1999). In other words, it seems likely that a very ancient ritual constituted the archetypical
version of what came to be recorded as a myth and that the process of fixation (i.e. the very writing
down of the ritual that gave it a stable procedural form) determined the modern and contemporary
appeal to the myth.
But the Mikagura no Gi has one additional symbolic significance: being the only form of kagura to
take place in the imperial court, it is regarded by many as the model for all other local versions.
However, in opposition to this interpretation of the kagura as spanning ‘from the center to the
periphery,’ some scholars have proposed an alternative perspective. Shiga Gō 志賀剛, for instance,
has noted that
“if we look at the contents of the Mikagurauta [御神楽歌], we see that there are many ancient folk songs
[kodai no min’yō 古代の民謡], and therefore it is possible to imagine that there were quite a lot of cases where
the songs of the village kagura [satokagura 里神楽] were modified in the style of the court. (…) The fact that
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the songs were introduced in the court meant that at the same time their style of performance [ensōkeishiki 演
奏形式] was introduced too” (1971, 43).
From this indications, it is probably best to think of the Mikagura no Gi as the result of a
stratification of both ritual and historical elements, and of the intermingling of the two. The ritual
must have changed significantly in the course of the centuries, even if it probably retained
something of both its original structure and contents.
In any case, since it seems extremely difficult to figure out how the music sounded like when it was
originally composed and performed, the interpretation of Mikagura no Gi as the oldest and primeval
form of all shintō rituals is now understood to be a late conception, devised during the Meiji period
明治時代 in order to restore the figure of the emperor in the eyes of his subjects (Harich-Schneider
1957; Garfias 1960b). On this basis, we could say that mikagura was used as a means to create a
specific image of Japan in which certain values as tradition, Japaneseness and uniqueness were
central.
Even if this sketch of the ritual and musical context of kuniburi no utamai cannot be conclusive, it
should be sufficient to demonstrate the extent to which these two dimensions of the repertoire are
inseparable. As a matter of fact (and as a reinforcement of the previous statement), the Mikagura no
Gi challenges the clear-cut exactness of Japanese categories concerning music and ritual life by
stretching the borders that divide one aspect of a courtly ceremony from the other. The Mikagura no
Gi can be studied both as a ritual and as a musical celebration. However, both approaches would be
lacking on their own, and one could very much say that a complete portrayal of this ritual must take
them into consideration jointly. Separating the two plains is not only difficult, but unfruitful.
Outline of Mikagura
Historical issues arise when one tries to reflect upon the Mikagura no Gi in practical terms. Aside
from the complex relationship it maintains with local kagura in its manifold present forms, it is
extremely difficult to reach a clear understanding of what the ritual was like in ancient times. As a
matter of fact, it is probable that total reliability on the topic will remain unreachable. Nevertheless,
scholars tend to agree that the modern rite was standardized for the first time in the year 1002,
during the reign of Emperor Ichijō 一条天皇 (r.986-1011 CE) (Takatori 1968, 166). Furthermore,
Takatori together with other researchers, has suggested that the predecessor of Mikagura no Gi
might have been the so-called Naishidokoro Mikagura 内侍所御神楽, of which we do not know
much, except for the fact that it took place in the Naishidokoro building (today called
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Kashikodokoro 賢所) and that it was mainly influenced by the Kinkashin’en 琴歌神宴, a kind of
entertaining banquet (en 宴) music accompanying the Chinkonsai 鎮魂際 -the ritual performed to
celebrate the enthronement of a new Emperor8 (Breen and Teeuwen 2010; Maraini 1995). From
these few historical data, it is already possible to acknowledge the complexity of both the ritual and
the musical context of Mikagura no Gi, caught as it is between local and central identities, between
the Imperial house with its solemn rites and the colorful expression of faith typical of matsuri,
between an obscure musical past and a role of musical herald of Japanese tradition.
A very general, concrete description of the setting and of the performance is presented next, through
which the peculiarities of the ceremony should become apparent.
First of all, the Mikagura no Gi is a ritual that only includes the presence of the musicians and,
occasionally, the emperor.9 For this reason, we could say that on the occasions that are especially
dedicated to the performance of Mikagura no Gi there is a perfect correspondence between the
ritual and the musical performance (synthetically, 御神楽=御神楽の儀), and that the role of
musician coincides with that of ritual specialist (ritualist). The performers are divided into two
groups, called motokata 本方 and suekata 末方, both of which are ‘represented’ or ‘captained’ by a
soloist, called motobyōshi 本拍子 or suebyōshi 末拍子, who not only sings but also plays the
shakubyōshi 尺拍子, a simple wooden clapper. The remaining players are a hichiriki 篳篥 (doublereed oboe) player, a flutist who plays the kagurabue 神楽笛, and a wagon 和琴 (a board zither with
six strings) player. The ceremonial role of leading the entire group is taken upon by the ninjō 人長,
who also sings and dances (Masumoto 1968, 300). The total number of musicians is about 25
(Garfias 1968).
The purpose of the ceremony seems to be to summon and entertain a divinity; in fact, the ritual
manifests the aforementioned three-part structure of inviting, amusing and letting go the kami so
typical of matsuri (Sestili 2000a, 20-21).
8
The Chinkonsai is itself an extremely fascinating yet rather obscure object of historical study. For two recent interpretations of this
ancient ritual, see Breen and Teeuwen 2010 and Ooms 2009.
9
In modern times, the sovereign is not required to take part in it anymore, but he is still informed of the beginning and ending of the
ritual, and he cannot retire to rest before the rite is over (Garfias 1968, 1-2).
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Figure 2 The Spatial Disposition of the Performers in Ancient Mikagura (Shiga 1971, 52).
The overall structure of the ritual is therefore tripartite, each part corresponding to a different
moment in the interaction between humans and the divinity summoned: first we see an invitation
section (kamioroshi 神おろし), then we proceed into an entertainment part (kamiasobi 神あそび),
and lastly we find a moment of departure of the divinity from the world of men (kamiagari 神あが
り). This basic three-part structure is closely reflected by the overall disposition of the songs which,
according to Konishi (1957, 262), are distributed into Torimono 採物, Saibari 前張 and Hoshi 星
(see Table 1).
Torimono 採物
Kamioroshi 神おろし
Invocation
Saibari 前張
Kamiasobi 神あそび
Entertainment
Hoshi 星
Kamiagari 神あがり
Departure
Table 1.Tripartite Structure of the Kagurauta
This subdivision is not incompatible with another one, which distinguishes only two major sections,
the Ceremonial and the Entertaining: the first is made up of the torimono songs, the second
comprises all of the others. In fact, “sub-division into a ceremonial part and a second part for the
entertainment of the gods is concerned more with the nature of the song texts and their traditional
classification than any special aspect of the performance” (Garfias 1968, 6).
However, today the Mikagura no Gi is performed in a much-resized version, with a structure that
retains the basic features of the ancient form but appears to be greatly imbalanced: the vast majority
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of torimono songs has been lost (only two of the ten songs present in the Kagurauta texts remain),
and
“present performance of the complete cycle lasts about seven hours, always beginning at twilight. Traditionally,
the performance should last from twilight until the following dawn, but with each generation the performance
tempi employed by the court musicians is [sic!] becoming faster with the consequent shortening of the duration
of the ceremony.10 (…) The songs can be divided into six groups, according to content and structure. These are,
in order of performance: Niwabi and Torimono, which form the ceremonial part of the Mi-Kagura, Kosaibari,
Zoka, Hoshi, Asakura and Sonokoma, all of which form the second part of the performance and are intended
for the entertainment of the gods” (Garfias 1968, 5).
Structure of Ancient Mikagura
1. 採物 （神おろし）
榊・幣・杖・篠・弓・剣・鉾・杓・葛
韓神
2. 前張 （神あそび）
a 大前張
宮人・木綿垂で・難波潟・榛・しなが鳥・猪名野・
宮人・木綿垂で・難波潟・榛・しなが鳥・猪名野・
我妹子
b 小前張
薦枕・賤家の小管・磯良崎・殖槻・総角・大宮・
湊田・蟋蟀
c 前張附属
千歳法
早歌
3. 星 （神あがり）
明星・得銭子・木線作る・日霊女歌・湯立歌
・神上
10
It is interesting to notice that if Garfias is correct this technical peculiarity about the tempi would represent a major discrepancy
from the main tendency observable in gagaku performance: whereas in tōgaku and komagaku pieces the tempi were slowed down to
the present austerity, in the case of the Kagura cycle the opposite is true.
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朝倉・其駒・竈殿遊歌・酒殿歌
Table 2 (Konishi 1957, 262).
What follows is the description of the first part of the ritual provided by Garfias, who conducted
field research in Japan during the years 1958-1960 and based his account on direct experience.
“In front of the central shrine, called the Kashikodokoro or Kensho11, there is a small rectangular structure that
consists of a thatched roof and plain cypress pillars standing on the gravel. Around these pillars is wrapped a
thickly striped black and white curtain, called the kujira-maku [クジラ幕] ‘whale curtain,’ because the stripes
resemble the skin and fat of a whale. The curtain covers three sides of the structure and only the side facing the
shrine remains open. At the open end of the hut is a fire, called niwabi [庭火] ‘garden fire’, contained in a
metal basket on a metal tripod. The only person not one of the musicians who is allowed to observe the
ceremony is the keeper of the niwabi, whose responsibility is to maintain the fire until dawn. Two long rafts of
rush are placed along the sides of the inner part of the hut and on these the twenty-four musicians of today’s
court are seated according to seniority. (…). At the start of the Mikagura night, the ninjō ascends the steps of
the shrine and receives the branch of the sacred sakaki [榊] to which is attached the ring or hoop made of stiff,
wound paper which represents the sacred mirror. The ninjō then returns to the hut. At first only the fue [笛]
player and the hichiriki [篳篥] player enter. Each plays the kagura-netori [神楽音取り] separately.(…) After
the netori, the musicians leave the hut and the ninjō also performs the opening ceremony before the gods. The
secret ceremony over, the ninjō calls in separately the fue player and the hichiriki player, each of whom plays
the long prelude called Niwabi ‘Garden Fire’. The wagon [和琴] player is also called to play a solo. The fue
and hichiriki then play a short duet, after which the motobyōshi [本拍子] enters and sings the first song, a solo
called Niwabi, accompanied by the wagon. The suebyōshi [末拍子] then enters and sings the same Niwabi
song. This much of the ceremony, usually called ‘niwabi’, lasts about two hours. After the ‘niwabi’, the
musicians re-enter and the fue plays another short prelude. The motobyōshi and the suebyōshi alternate in a
series of short intoned interjections known as ajimesaho [アジメサホ] and oke [オケ]. Both of these
interjections are sung on what are now meaningless syllables; the ajimesaho is on what are thought to be the
words spoken by the gods when the sun-goddess came out of the cave. Both the ajime and the oke employ a
long downward phrase endings.(…) The first song sung by the entire ensemble is Sakaki, of the Torimono
group. (…) There follows a short oke and a brief interlude in which the shakubyōshi [尺拍子] is struck three
times and between each stroke the wagon plays a short pattern. The entire ensemble sings the song Karakami
[韓神], which is followed by Haya-Karakami [早韓神], to which the ninjō does a short solo dance. (…) A
short ajime and oke follow bringing to a close the ceremonial section of the Mikagura night” (Garfias 1968, 56).
11
The Kashikodokoro is one of the three Kyūchūsanden 宮中三殿, three devotional halls (den 殿) inside the Imperial Palace in
Tōkyō, dedicated to Amaterasu (the Kashikodokoro), the Emperor’s soul (the Kōreiden 皇霊殿) and the gods of heaven and hearth
tenjinchigi 天神地祇 (the Shinden 神殿).
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Garfias’s description is sufficient to envision both the slow pace and the austerity by which the
ceremony is characterized. There are no major differences between the ceremonial and the
entertainment part in terms of the musicians’ acts. As a matter of fact, the ritual alternates purely
instrumental and vocal pieces. The instrumental sections are conceived as preludes (netori 音取)
and function as interludes between the sung numbers. These are characterized by a strong
antiphonal structure, in which the single voices of the motobyōshi and the suebyōshi alternate with
either their respective group or the “tutti.” It is easy to see that the way the musicians are grouped
mirrors the overall structure of the ritual. In the Torimono section, the main peculiarity is the use of
sacred objects such as the sakaki branch, although, as we have seen, today only two pieces feature
these paraphernalia. Apart from this, action does not play a central role in the Mikagura no Gi and
in a way it can be said the ritual is not centered on its outward dimension but ascribes a greater
significance to the contents of the songs and their correct performance. Such stressing of
orthopraxis is typical of Japanese ritual life, as well as the ritualization of the performers’ gestures,
also evident in the music of nō theater 能楽 (Ruperti 1988).
Overall, the outline of Mikagura no Gi suggests a rite that has few showy gestures but whose
musical performing features are codified in such a way that their significance can become fully
perceivable. This suggests a ritualization of sound which constitutes a major point of interest in
ethnomusicological research.
Figure 3 Manuscripts of Niwabi (Harich-Schneider 1957, Plate V)
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Figure 4 A Passage of the Nabeshima Manuscript of the Kagurauta (Nihon Koten Bungaku Zenshū Vol.25, plates)
Structure of Modern Mikagura (1)
Ceremonial Section
Entertainment Section
Niwabi
庭火
Torimono
採物
Kosaibari
小前張
Zōka
雑歌
Hoshi
星
Asakura
朝倉
Sonokoma
其駒
Table 3 (Garfias 1968, 5)
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Andrea Giolai (Cà Foscari University of Venice)
Structure of Modern Mikagura (2)
人長 のののの部部部部
（一） 「
庭火」そ のほか
採物 のののの部部部部
ー阿知女作法
（
二） 「
榊」
（
三） 「
韓神 」 （
閑韓神 ・早韓神）
小前張 のののの部部部部
（
四） 「
薦 枕」
（
五） 「
篠波 」
（
六） 「
千歳」
（
七） 「
早歌」
星星星星 のののの部部部部
（
八） 「
吉 々利 々」
（
九） 「
得銭 子」
（一〇） 「
木線作」
Table 4 (Masumoto 1968, 308-309)
Conclusion: Ethnomusicological Features of Mikagura no Gi and their Significance to
Historical Ethnomusicology
From Garfias’s description, it is possible to highlight at least two elements that appear to be specific
of this type of ritual: first of all, even though Masumoto is certainly right in noticing the centrality
of the ritual activities to the kuniburi no utamai, in contrast to the “independence” of kangen purely
instrumental pieces or bugaku dances, it does not follow that music plays a subsidiary role in the
ritual economy of the Mikagura no Gi. Not only is every step framed by a musical activity (from the
instrumental preludes to the more succinct demarcating function of the idiophone shakubyōshi), but
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the ritual itself is a musical performance. For example, the presentation of sacred objects that
characterizes the Torimono section does not take the form of gestures separated from the music,
rather, the act of singing and playing are themselves ritually significant. There follows the
ritualization of sound which seems to be the most interesting element for the ethnomusicologist to
study. Among the many questions raised by the acknowledgement of the centrality of sound to the
ritual, we can ask ourselves: is music a means to link humans and non-humans? If so, are the sonic
elements responsible for this process identifiable?
These are only some of the fully ethnomusicological issues that arise when considering the ritual as
well as the musical dimension of the Mikagura no Gi.
The second observation concerns the formal setting of the ritual. This is markedly antiphonal and
dialectic, in the sense that the division into two groups mirroring each other is functional and
meaningful. The pace of the ritual is marked by the alternating voices of the two soloists and their
groups, and this not only strengthens the impression of a question-and-answer structure, it also
conveys a peculiar development of the contents of the ritual. As a matter of fact, when reading the
Torimono section of the Kagurauta texts, it is possible to appreciate a quasi-narrative evolution of
the situation described in the poetic lines (Kurahayashi 1969). Since, as we have seen, the majority
of the poems in the Torimono section are not performed anymore, inquiring whether it is possible to
trace a connection between the way the text progresses and the musical aspects of its contemporary
rendition would constitute a stimulating topic for historical ethnomusicology. The object of such a
study could include actual performances as well as the Kagurauta texts and finally the scores. In
fact, as Richard Widdess has pointed out, “the object in studying notation is not necessarily to
recreate musical performances (…), but rather to draw conclusions of a historical and analytical
nature, both from the notation system itself and from whatever musical parameters it represents”
(Widdess 1992, 223).
In this article we have briefly presented the ancient Japanese ritual called Mikagura no Gi and its
ritual and musical context. We have tried to show how a broad consideration of its context, one that
includes the ritual dimension, can shed light on the complexity of Imperial kagura (Mikagura). In
fact, given the difference between kuniburi no utamai and the other genres of gagaku music, it
might be helpful to make use of a methodology specifically dedicated to the so-called wagaku.
Finally, we have suggested that the interrelation of texts, scores and performances can constitute a
valid starting point for a historical ethnomusicological research on the Mikagura no Gi.
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Even if the Mikagura no Gi has received a great deal of attention from Western scholars, a serious
and complete ethnomusicological inquiry of the matter is still lacking. Let us hope that the haunting
beauty of this music captures the attention of the ethnomusicologist sooner rather than later.
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