Daikoku Dance

This is a blessing art in which the performer dances dressed as Daikokuten, one of the Seven Lucky Gods. It seems to have been quite popular in the mid-Middle Ages, as seen in the Inryoken Nichiroku, an entry for 1466, which reads, "He is a wise guest, and he likes to perform Daikoku-mai on weekdays." At the end of the Middle Ages, it was often performed at the Imperial Court during the New Year. Today, it is handed down as one of the hayashi-mai dances that accompany the Ayako-mai dance in Onadani, Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture, as a folk dance in Yachi, Kahoku Town, Nishimurayama County, Yamagata Prefecture, and as a relic of the Kado-zuke style, paired with the Ebisu-mai dance, in Ozaki, Ako City, Hyogo Prefecture. The customary costume is to wear a Daikoku hood and hold a magic mallet in one hand, but in Ako, they wear a Daikoku mask. At Entsuji Temple in Tottori City, there is a Daikoku dance performed by three puppeteers.

[Masahiro Nishikado]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

七福神の大黒天に扮(ふん)して舞う祝福芸。中世なかばにはかなり行われていたらしく、『蔭凉軒日録(いんりょうけんにちろく)』の文正(ぶんしょう)元年（1466）の条に「彼知客、平日好大黒舞」とみえる。中世末には正月に宮中によく参入している。今日では、新潟県柏崎(かしわざき)市女谷(おなだに)の綾子(あやこ)舞に伴う囃子(はやし)舞の一つとして、また山形県西村山郡河北(かほく)町谷地(やち)のものは民謡的な舞踊として、兵庫県赤穂(あこう)市尾崎では恵比須(えびす)舞と対(つい)で門付(かどづけ)の遺風として伝承している。大黒頭巾(ずきん)をかぶり、手に打ち出の小槌(こづち)を持つのが決まりの扮装であるが、赤穂では大黒面をつける。鳥取市円通寺には三人遣い人形の大黒舞がある。

［西角井正大］

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