Yamashiro Bugaku, which I am learning, is a kind of GAGAKU, which is a Japanese traditional music. We dance with a song, and some other traditional musical instruments. We often use a fan but sometimes we use a twig or spray depending on the song.

Bugaku Dance is usually dedicated to God. So we often perform in a festival of shrines but sometimes in something like a feast.
Historically, it was mainly men and only a few women who were allowed to serve God. So some of our dancers need to perform as men because long time ago only men were allowed to serve GOD in Japan. We mustn't dance amorously. I think this is the biggest difference between Nihon Buyo (normal Japanese traditional dance) and Yamashiro Bugaku.

The movement of Bugaku is very similar to that of Noh, Kyogen. You bend your knees deeply and walk quietly so that you don't swing the upper half of your body. We also dance strongly.

Usually we practise in casual wear. On the day of the feast, we dress in special outfits, which are historical and valuable, like a shrine maiden or a shrine priest . We braid our hair tightly and put on long imitation hair or a coronet or a hair ornament. So we can't have short cut hair for the season of feasts.

Our costumes are very beautiful. So after the performance, we are often asked by tourists to pose for photos. When we perform in feasts of shrines, we can be in the special sacred places where ordinary people usually can be. It is a very rare experience for us.

Practice is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on three Saturdays a month at Hirano Shrine (To see the map, CLICK HERE), Kyoto. We enjoy not only the practice but also chatting together. The monthly fee is 4000 yen (as at January 2002). You need to buy some goods but they are then your own to keep. Thanks to the low cost, I think I have been able to continue practising for 6 years.

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