Youngsters try to inherit centuries-old ritual dance in southwestern Japan village

Youngsters try to inherit centuries-old ritual dance in southwestern Japan village

Nov. 28, 2012

Residents of Yabe Village, a mountainous area in Kyushu, southwestern Japan, turn out for one of their biggest festivals in November, enjoying or personally taking part in performances, shows and other programs. A highlight of the 28th two-day Yabe Festival this year was the “Furyu” ritual dance and music performed by school children aged from eight to 15.
The Furyu dance, whose origin dates back to 600 to 700 years ago, is a rite dedicated to Yametsuhime Princess, a legendary figure venerated by local residents. It has been played every five years in front of the 1,300-year-old Yametsuhime Shrine in the Kaminoiwaya district. The event will not be formally performed until 2014. Students of Yabe Junior High School, joined by some elementary school pupils, play a slightly modified version as part of the Yabe Festival. They learn the traditional dance and music from people in the district who take care of the shrine every year.
The students practiced playing their respective roles very hard from summer, Hiroyuki Nagamizo, the school principal, said in an opening remark to the audience, most of them family members and school-related persons. For this year’s performance, the 22nd of its kind, “all our 39 students are here today,” the principal said. “The Furyu performance is important because they will be able to better understand our culture and nurture their passion for our homeland” by striving to inherit the tradition, he said.
The number of students at the junior high had been once far over 100, but it has decreased to one-third amid depopulation in rural areas throughout Japan. Yabe Village, with a population of about 1,400, became part of Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture, in February 2010. About 90 pct of its 80-square-kilometer area is covered with forests. (A related story can be found in the post dated October 30, 2012.)
The Furyu dance was planned to be performed in the open air, but the venue was changed to a gym because of chilly rain. The performance began on a slow, gentle rhythm when a procession of 57 persons, including drummers and gong and pipe players, entered the center of the gym, led by the “shinbochi” conductor wearing brown robes and a hood.
The performance opened with an oral statement by the conductor praying for a good harvest and continued around the two drummers bearing swords on their back, who played the drums while dancing to the accompaniment of gongs, pipes and voices of kimono-clad girls with floral hats and big fans. The boys and girls played the 20-minute performance in earnest in a rather tense atmosphere, but when they posed for photos after the end, they looked happy with beaming smiles and resolved to endeavor to inherit the centuries-old event.