Acrobatics - Light tricks

Japanese: 軽業 - かるわざ

Acrobatics literally refers to the art of performing dangerous movements with agility that astonishes the audience. The performer is called an acrobat. The main types of acrobatics include tightrope walking, pole climbing, handstand spinning, basket escapes, and trapeze. The Japanese word "acrobatics," which can also be written as "acrobatics" or "acrobatics," began to be used during the Enpo era (1673-1680) of the Edo period. It began with the spider dance, which was also incorporated into Kabuki. The spider dance is a tightrope-walking art that compiles Sangaku, a form of entertainment that was introduced from China during the Nara period. To this came the addition of jumping techniques such as basket escapes, sword blade walking, ladder climbing, and paper walking, which literally show off agility, and the term came to be collectively referred to as acrobatics. Sangaku, the origin of acrobatics, has been part of the 100 kinds of miscellaneous arts since the Han dynasty, and its roots can be traced back to India (Tenjiku) and even Egypt. In other words, acrobatics skills spread to Greece via Egypt and Asia Minor, and gave rise to the modern word acrobat, which means tightrope walking. It can be said that it was transmitted via these routes to China and Japan via the Western Regions. The arts of tightrope walking, gyoku (hingyoku), and jutate, which were brought to Japan during the Nara period, can be clearly seen in the Shinzei Kogakuzu and the Dangu-Ze-ga, a treasure from the Shosoin Repository. During this period, sangaku was a secular art form, different from the formal Bugaku and Gigaku, but public training schools called Sangakuto were established, where the skills were taught. Around the 10th century, the protection of the Imperial Court was lost and most of the Rakudo people became common people and street performers. Throughout the ages, they have entertained the public as spectacles at temple and shrine festivals. Japanese acrobatics, which developed from Sangaku acrobatics, began to be performed independently as spectacles at the end of the Edo period. At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate (1864), circuses arrived from the West and acrobats began to tour overseas, ushering in an era when equestrian troupes (see Equestrian Circus), circuses, and acrobatics developed together. → Acrobatics → Related topic: Acrobatics

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

見る人を驚かすような危険な動作を，文字どおり身軽に演ずる業(わざ)をいう。演ずる人を軽業師という。軽業の主なものとして，綱渡りや竿(さお)のぼり，倒立回転，籠(かご)抜け（輪抜け），空中ぶらんこなどがあげられる。軽芸，軽技とも書く日本の造語である〈軽業〉は，江戸時代延宝年間（1673年−1680年）から使用されるようになった。その契機は，歌舞伎にも取り入れられていた蜘蛛舞(くもまい)にあった。蜘蛛舞は，奈良時代に中国から伝えられた散楽(さんがく)を集成した綱渡り系の業である。これに，籠抜けという跳技や剣の刃渡り，梯子(はしご)乗り，紙渡りなど文字どおり身軽さを誇示するような演技が加わり，軽業の名で総称されるようになった。軽業の源流である散楽は，漢代以来，百戯雑芸の一部として，そのルーツは，インド（天竺(てんじく)）さらにはエジプトにさかのぼることができる。つまり，軽業系技能は，エジプトや小アジアを経てギリシアに伝播(でんぱ)し，綱渡りを意味するアクロバットという近代語を生んだ。これらのルートから西域を経て中国，日本へと伝えられたといえる。　奈良朝期にもたらされた綱渡りや弄玉（品玉），重立などの技芸の様子は，《信西(しんぜい)古楽図》や正倉院御物の〈弾弓(だんぐう)添画〉からもよくうかがえる。この時期，散楽は，格式のある舞楽や伎楽と異なる世俗的芸であったが，〈散楽戸〉といわれる公の教習所が設立され，技能も教えられた。10世紀ころになると，朝廷の保護を失い，楽戸の民は大部分賤民(せんみん)化し，大道芸人となったという。彼らは，いつの時代にも，寺社の祭礼の見世物として人びとの目を楽しませてきた。散楽雑技から発展した日本の軽業は，江戸時代末期には，見世物として独立して興行されるようになる。幕末期（1864年）に，西洋からサーカスがやってくることによって軽業師も海外巡業するようになり，曲馬団（曲馬参照）やサーカスと軽業芸は一体となって発展する時代を迎える。→曲芸
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