Headless - Batou

The title of a Gagaku piece. It can also be written as "Hatsutou" or "Kamitou". It belongs to the Tang music genre, but there is a dance on the left with a simple rhythm and a dance on the right with a yatara rhythm. Both are dances performed by one person running. Originally it was in the style of a beggar, but now it is in the style of a big meal. It is one of the eight Linyu musics, and is said to originate from the horse incarnation of the god Ashvi in ​​the Indian mythology "Rig Veda". It expresses the rise of strange emotions, and one theory is that it imitates the way a man from the Western Hu country whose father was killed by a wild beast rages and takes revenge. The Kamakura period Gagaku book "Kyokumonsho" says that it depicts a Tang empress who went mad with jealousy and danced out of her room as a demon. There are many movements during the dance that involve "kakikute" (scratching the hair). The performer wears a red mask with long hair, a hooked nose, raised eyebrows, a hair-lined trousers, and a short drumstick. The piece consists of "Ranjo Ransho," "Netori," and "Tokyoku," and the dancer exits with an "Iria-ya." The pair dance is "Genjoraku."

[Yoko Hashimoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

雅楽の曲名。「撥頭」「髪頭」とも書く。唐楽に属すが、只(ただ)拍子の左方の舞と夜多羅(やたら)拍子の右方の舞がある。いずれも1人の走舞(はしりまい)。もとは乞食(こつじき)調であったが現在では太食(たいしき)調。林邑(りんゆう)八楽の一つで、インド神話『リグ・ベーダ』にある馬の化身アシュビ神に由来するといわれる。異様な感情の高まりを表し、一説には西方胡(こ)国の人が猛獣に父を殺され、憤怒して仇(あだ)を討つさまを模すという。鎌倉時代の雅楽書『教訓抄』には、唐のある皇后が嫉妬(しっと)に狂い座敷牢(ろう)から鬼となって踊り出たさまを表すとある。舞中何度も「髪掻(か)く手」という所作がある。長髪鉤(かぎ)鼻で眉(まゆ)をつり上げた赤い面をつけ、毛べりの裲襠(りょうとう)を着し、短い桴(ばち)を持つ。「林邑乱声(らんじょう)」「抜頭音取(ねとり)」「当曲」からなり、舞人は入綾(いりあや)で退場する。番舞(つがいまい)は『還城楽(げんじょうらく)』。

［橋本曜子］

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