{"id":104576,"date":"2024-09-24T10:55:38","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T01:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=104576"},"modified":"2024-09-24T10:55:40","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T01:55:40","slug":"kagura-theater-in-shimane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/kagura-theater-in-shimane\/","title":{"rendered":"Entertaining the Gods: Kagura Theater in Shimane\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I think it was the moment Orochi arrived. A phantasmagorical rendering of the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent from Shinto myth, cavorting on the stage in wild and elliptical patterns, one of his papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9 heads thudding to the floor, a tubular tail whipping up gusts of wind. Yes, that was the moment I knew that kagura <\/em>theater (\u795e\u697d)<\/strong> was just a little bit special.  <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Kagura<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

I flew to Yunotsu, Shimane Prefecture, ostensibly, for this very reason \u2014 to see kagura in the flesh<\/a>, a form of theater borne out of Shinto ritual that is ancient enough to have been mentioned in the 8th<\/sup> century Nihon Shoki <\/em>(The Chronicles of Japan)<\/a>.<\/strong> With a name that translates to \u201centertaining the gods,\u201d kagura has the historical heft of noh, the light-hearted touch of kabuki, the virtuosic craftsmanship of bunraku<\/em> puppet theater. But it also stands on its own merit and is so much more than the sum of its electrifying parts.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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