Kashima Dance - Kashima Dance

It is one of the Furyu dances. It is said to have originated from the Kashima Shrine priests' prayers to drive away evil spirits, and it is believed to have spread to various regions during the Edo period by lower-ranking priests who traveled around giving oracles called "Kashima no Kotobure" (pronounced "talk of Kashima"). It was originally performed at Kashima Shrine in Ibaraki Prefecture during the Bunsei era (1818-1830), but many of them can still be found today along the Sagami Bay coast from Shonan to the east coast of Izu, including Odawara City and Ashigarashimo County in Kanagawa Prefecture, and Atami City, Ito City, and Kamo County in Shizuoka Prefecture. It is danced by around 15-50 young men, and is a combination of square and round dances. Costumes vary from place to place, but the authentic style is that all dancers, including one drummer, one or two gong players, and the three roles (one each of the golden ladle player, sun god, and moon god), wear white robes made from kariginu and eboshi hats, and those not performing the roles wear the handles of sacred offerings over their shoulders and assume the appearance of lower-ranking Kashima gods holding fans. The dance is accompanied by songs, and the lyrics show a syncretism between Kashima faith and Miroku faith. Kashima Dance can also be found in Shimada city, Shizuoka prefecture; Ogouchi in Okutama town, Tokyo; and Iida city, Nagano prefecture. Miroku Dance, which is said to be closely related to Kashima Dance, can be found in Sunosaki, Tateyama city, Chiba prefecture, and Ohata, Kasukabe city, Saitama prefecture, but the content of all of these dances is different from the Kashima Dance found from Shonan to Izu.

[Shigeru Takayama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

風流踊(ふりゅうおどり)の一つ。始原は鹿島神宮の神人による疫神送り（悪霊払い）にあるといわれ、江戸時代に鹿島信仰を背景に「鹿島の事触(ことぶ)れ」と称する神託を行って歩いた下級神人によって各地に波及したものと思われる。本元の茨城県鹿島神宮では文政(ぶんせい)年間（1818～30）に絶えたが、神奈川県の小田原市、足柄下(あしがらしも)郡、静岡県の熱海(あたみ)市、伊東(いとう)市、賀茂(かも)郡など湘南(しょうなん)から伊豆の東海岸にかけて相模(さがみ)湾沿いに今日も数多く点在する。青年男子が主体となり、15～50名くらいで踊られ、方舞と円舞との組合せよりなる。衣装は所によって異なるが、太鼓1人、鉦(かね)1人または2人、三役（黄金柄杓(こがねひしゃく)・日形・月形各1人）の役の者を含む踊り手全員が狩衣(かりぎぬ)仕立ての白浄衣(しろじょうえ)に烏帽子(えぼし)をかぶるのが本格的で、役の者以外は幣束(へいそく)の柄(え)を肩にかけ、扇を持つ鹿島の下級神人の姿をとる。踊りには歌を伴うが、その歌詞には鹿島信仰と弥勒(みろく)信仰との習合が認められる。鹿島踊はほかにも静岡県島田市、東京都奥多摩町小河内(おごうち)、長野県飯田(いいだ)市にもあり、鹿島踊と関係が深いといわれる弥勒踊は千葉県館山(たてやま)市洲崎(すのさき)、埼玉県春日部(かすかべ)市大畑(おおはた)などにあるが、いずれも湘南から伊豆にかけての鹿島踊とは内容が異なる。

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