Kugami
Gravestone Dance
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| A Dance of Solace in the Graveyard |
Introduction
For one
night a year, the hilltop graveyard in the coastal community of Kugami serves
as the stage for an extraordinarily unique tradition and otherworldly
spectacle: a communal dance around gravestones performed to the recitation of
tragic tales and rhythm of taiko drums.
History
Designated
as an intangible folk cultural property, exact dates and details regarding the
genesis of this unusual practice remain shrouded in mystery; the locals of
Kugami know from their own childhood recollections of this anticipated annual
celebration that they have danced in the graveyard since at least the Taisho
era (1912 to 1926).
To this
day, they still leave their homes as night lays claim to July 14th
of the lunar calendar and, paper lantern in hand, traverse steep paths cleft
through bamboo thickets to reach the crest of a coastal sand dune. There,
around the obelisk shaped gravestone of each
household that lost a family member within the lunar year, they dance to
welcome their spirit home for the Obon
festival – no matter the weather.
The Dance
In the
past, the heads of each household observing the first Obon for the departed would dress in full kimono complete with the family’s crest
and formally welcome each participating dancer
to the venue — their family grave. Dancers, in turn, would wear yukata. Now,
the custom no longer includes specifications on attire or formalities for host
or dancer.
Once dancers
have arrived at the venue, the dance itself begins. Each dance lasts 15 minutes
per gravestone and is simple enough to learn by following along: move your
hands in a motion that resembles scooping something up while taking supple
steps clockwise around the gravestone in a circular dance similar to the
typical Donen Odori, and dancers can join or exit the circle at any time. The
number of dances in a year depends on how many households have lost a family
member during the year; this year saw a total of six dances.
To provide
rhythm, a solitary taiko drum drums out a slow and steady beat. Meanwhile, a
singer-narrator recites one of the 20 different customary kudoki — a term for predominantly lyrical sections of traditional
samisen songs — which include works such as the tragic tales Yaoya Oshichi (Greengrocer
Oshichi) and Bancho
Sarayashiki (The Dish Mansion at the Bancho).
Atmosphere
Though the
idea of dancing to tragic poetry performed late at night around the gravestone
of the recently departed may come across as somewhat depressing and dreary, the atmosphere in the graveyard certainly isn’t; dancers and
spectators alike engage in jovial conversation between dances while drummers generously
share cans of beer carted with taiko in their plastic wheelbarrows. Then, in
one lantern-lit procession down midnight paths, the celebration heads to the
next venue.
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| Wheelbarrows of Taiko Drums and Beer |
Invitation
Fancy a
late night dance in the graveyard? Feel free to join the next Kugami Gavestone
Dance; after all, this is a gathering that enforces no dress code, expects no reservations, and intends to
welcome everyone — both the living and formerly so — to the family grave.
Details: https://www.tottori-dentou.net/dantai_detail.php?id=74 (Japanese Only)
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