The August 31st issue of Jinja Shinpō included an article reporting on a gathering on 20th June in Nagasaki Prefecture of the groups responsible for preserving and passing on Iki Kagura and Hirado Kagura. Iki is an island off the coast of Kyushu that was one of the ancient provinces of Japan and is now part of Nagasaki Prefecture, while Hirado is another island, much closer to the coast of Kyushu. In the Edo period, they were part of the same domain, and the kagura (神楽, sacred dance) of Iki was, apparently, passed to the other island, and then the traditions developed, influencing each other. Both traditions were designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties in 1987.
In both of these traditions, the kagura is performed by priests, not by miko or lay people, and it is one of the examples in which that tradition was continued through the Meiji period. The government had officially discouraged priests from performing kagura, because it was felt to be inappropriate, but it seems that these islands were too far from Tokyo for the subtle pressure to work.
The close relationship between the traditions had led to them having gatherings like this from time to time, but apparently it had been about twenty years since the last one. This time, they live streamed the event on YouTube, and the video is still viewable (at least right now).
Because it was a livestream, it is three hours of the camera pointing at the area in which the kagura was offered. I haven’t watched it all, because I do not have that much free time, and if you would also like highlights, I will add some more specific links below.
This is “Shihonhei” (四本幣), a dance that is shared between the traditions, but I think this is the Hirado version, if I caught the announcement correctly. This sort of dance, with a gohei (the stick with the white paper on) and no mask, is a common opening dance for a set of kagura, as it serves to purify the space. You can tell it’s just a livestream because someone stands in front of the camera for a while part way through…
The “Oshiki” (折敷, trays) dances are slightly different between the two traditions, and were performed by the sons of priests. This is the Iki version (I can hear the announcement, and it was listed first in the article):
And this is the Hirado version:
And then later, there are some masked kagura. I think this one is Kamiyo Biraki (神代開), but the sound quality is not great (they aren’t professional streamers…) so I may have got it mixed up with one of the others (in which case it is probably Gohō (五方), because the other option is Sarutahiko, and the mask is wrong for that).
Finally, they had the Hirado “Two Swords” (二剣) dance. This dance apparently uses real swords, and the tension was said to be palpable.
If that doesn’t look like two swords to you, well, you’re not the only one. Maybe the one he’s holding in his mouth doesn’t count.
This is one of the traditions of kagura that is only offered in a particular location in Japan, unlike the miko kagura that you can see anywhere. Judging from the video, this tradition is safe for at least another generation — which is all that any generation can manage.