Cultural History of Kagura

It is said that there are 4,000 types of Kagura in Japan. On October 26, 2025, the Council for Cultural Affairs of the Agency for Cultural Affairs decided to propose Kagura for registration as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. If all goes well, deliberations will take place in December 2028. As a representative of Japanese culture, Kagura may soon be widely recognized throughout the world.

What is Kagura? Kagura is diverse across different regions, making a unified definition difficult. Often, specific parts of dances or ritual prayers (saimon) are referred to as Kagura. While it is considered a Shinto ritual performing art, looking back, there were many instances of Shinto-Buddhist syncretism, and its appearance differs entirely between the pre-modern and post-modern eras. The diverse forms of Kagura are a manifestation of how local communities in various regions have nurtured diverse and unique cultures. In modern times, Kagura has become event-oriented, serving as side-shows or entertainment, and has come to be used as a centerpiece for tourism. Hayachine Kagura, Iwami Kagura, and Takachiho Kagura are performed on stage, and the National Theatre has regularly held Kagura as part of its folk performing arts performances. Kagura has flexibly adapted to the changes of the times.

This book examines Kagura from the perspective of cultural history in order to comprehensively capture recent movements surrounding it. Focusing on the sustainability, change, and succession of traditions, it compares and examines the transmission and history of rituals, prayers, and physical techniques. It also pays attention to the process of change and emphasizes the nature of the local communities that have supported Kagura. A major modern movement is the designation as cultural property; many local Kagura traditions have become intangible cultural properties. When the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was revised in 1975 and the system for National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties began, the movement toward cultural property designation intensified, and the intentions of the administration and the opinions of scholars and researchers began to exert a strong influence.

In rural areas, the declining birthrate and aging population are serious, making the maintenance and succession of traditions increasingly difficult. This torn situation is faced not only by ritual performing arts but also by traditional performing arts such as Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku. There is no silver bullet, but there is no choice but to unearth the unique traditional knowledge of regions and practitioners and discover diverse ways of living. At the same time, it is an essential task to continue restructuring and strengthening the foundation for maintaining traditions in a way that matches modern changes. Soft resistance against the modern age, where economic priority and digital unification progress, asks how the wisdom of societies that have maintained traditional knowledge can be utilized today.

This book is not a farewell to Kagura, but an attempt to carve out a path to the future.

"Cultural History of Kagura"
Masataka Suzuki
Hozokan
514 pages, 4,950 yen (tax included)