Ayako Mai - Ayako Mai

It is one of the Furyu dances. It is a folk art form handed down in the Shimono and Takanda areas of Onadani, Kurohime-cho, Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture. It consists of dance, musical accompaniment, and kyogen, but is said to be unique in that it still retains the vestiges of early kabuki dance. As for its origin, it is said to be related to Ayako, the wife of the provincial governor Uesugi Fusayoshi, who fled to this mountain range in 1509 (Eisho 6), or that when Sugawara no Michizane was demoted to Dazaifu, a girl named Aya from Kyoto Shichijo-bomon performed a dance wearing a twill, which was later taught to this area by a samurai from the northern side. In the late Edo period, performances were held in Edo, and until the middle of the Meiji period, they were performed in the surrounding areas, but now they are performed on-site on the second Sunday of September. The dance was originally performed by boys dressed as women, but now it is performed by girls up to about 20 years old in groups of three from Shimotsuke and groups of two from Takaharada. All wear a red cloth headgear called a yurai on their heads, which hangs down behind them. In Shimotsuke, they wear long kimono (long-sleeved kimono) with a medium-width obi tied loosely and white tabi socks. In Takaharada, the slight difference is that the long-sleeved kimono is worn with scarlet hakama (Japanese long-sleeved pants). Each dancer holds a fan in their hand. The accompaniment is a large drum, a shime drum, a flute, a drum, copper clappers, and clappers. The names of the pieces that have been handed down to date are 11 dances, 22 hayashi-mai (traditional Japanese musical accompaniment) and 28 kyogen plays. Of these, it is said that several dances such as "Kokiriko Dance" and "Hitachi Dance", as well as more than a dozen musical accompaniment and kyogen plays, can be performed today.

[Shigeru Takayama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

風流踊(ふりゅうおどり)の一つ。新潟県柏崎(かしわざき)市黒姫町女谷(おなだに)の下野(しもの)、高原田(たかんだ)両地区に伝わる民俗芸能。踊りと囃子舞(はやしまい)と狂言からなるが、初期歌舞伎(かぶき)踊りのおもかげを今日に残している点に特色があるとされる。起源については、1509年（永正6）この山間に落ち延びた国守上杉房能(ふさよし)の奥方綾子にちなむとも、菅原道真(すがわらのみちざね)が大宰府(だざいふ)に左遷のとき、京七条坊門の文(あや)という娘が綾を着て舞を奏したが、それがのちに北面の武士によりこの地に伝授されたとも伝えられる。江戸時代後期には江戸で興業を行い、明治の中ごろまで近郷一帯を巡って演じたが、いまは9月第2日曜日に現地公開されている。踊りは、もとは少年が女装したが、いまは下野3人1組、高原田2人1組の20歳くらいまでの少女たちが踊る。いずれも頭にユライとよばれる赤布の被(かぶ)り物をつけ、後ろに長く垂らす。下野では振袖(ふりそで)に中幅の帯をだらりに結び、白足袋(しろたび)。高原田では振袖に緋(ひ)の袴(はかま)をつける点が多少異なる。手には扇を持つ。囃子は大太鼓、締(しめ)太鼓、笛、鼓、銅拍子(どうびょうし)、拍子木。現在伝わる曲名は踊り11曲、囃子舞22曲、狂言28番。このうち「小切子踊(こきりこおどり)」「常陸踊(ひたちおどり)」など踊り数曲のほか囃子舞、狂言あわせて十数番が今日上演できるといわれる。

［高山　茂］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例