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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Japanese Traditional Folk Music and Dance: Kyogen and Geisha



There aren't that many good quality videos that show Japanese traditional music and dance available on Youtube. But here's a pretty good one.


This is Kyogen and Geisha: Setsubun at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto and is very cool.




Kyogen from Wikipedia:


Kyōgen (狂言, literally "mad words" or "wild speech") is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside Noh, was performed along with Noh as an intermission of sorts between Noh acts, on the same Noh stage, and retains close links to Noh in the modern day; therefore, it is sometimes designatedNoh-kyōgen. However, its content is not at all similar to the formal, symbolic, and solemn Noh theater; kyōgen is a comical form, and its primary goal is to make its audience laugh. Kyōgen is sometimes compared to the Italian comic form of commedia dell'arte, which developed around the same period (14th century) and likewise features stock characters.


Maybe it's just me, but when I see these things I see a complete and total connection to traditional American indian dance... There's no doubt in my mind that the American indians came across the Aleutian islands many millennium ago.
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1 comment:

  1. Andrew JosephAugust 12, 2012 at 1:56 AM

    Okay - I love the priest in the heavy woman kimono and mask! Brilliant stuff!

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