Hiwaka Dance

Japanese: 日若踊 - ひわかおどり

A folk art form. It is an elegant dance that is performed at the festival of Taga Shrine (Hinawakamiya) in Nogata, Nogata City, Fukuoka Prefecture on June 1st. It consists of the simple "Hinawaka Odori Ondo" and the graceful "Hinawaka Odori Honte." The music is played with drums, shamisen, shakuhachi, etc., and the song is sung by the leader and several others. Currently, the dancers are mostly women, but in the Edo period, people of all ages and genders, including samurai, danced. Hinawaka-uta and Hinawaka-mai were handed down at Hinawakamiya, and in the early Edo period, a samurai from the Nogata domain added "Shinanbashi," which he had learned in Osaka, to form "Hinawaka Odori Ondo," and it is said that from the Koka era (1844-48) to the Genji era (1864-65), a kabuki actor incorporated a Nagauta parody to create "Hinawaka Odori Honte."

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

民俗芸能。風流踊で福岡県直方（のおがた）市大字直方の多賀神社(日若宮)の6月1日の祭りに行われる。素朴な〈日若踊音頭〉と優美な〈日若踊本手〉からなる。囃子は太鼓と三味線，尺八などで，歌は音頭取りほか数人で歌う。現在の踊り手は女性が中心であるが，江戸時代には侍もまじり老若男女が踊った。日少宮に日若謡，日若舞が伝承されていたが，これに江戸時代初頭，直方藩の侍が大坂で習った〈思案橋〉というものを加えて〈日若踊音頭〉を，さらに弘化(1844‐48)から元治(1864‐65)にかけて，新たに歌舞伎役者が長唄の替歌をとり入れて〈日若踊本手〉を作ったと伝える。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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