kagura (redirected from Kagura (dance))

kagura

In Shinto, a traditional style of music and dancing used in religious ceremonies. Kagura dances dedicated to native deities are a reenactment of the propitiatory dance that lured the sun goddess Amaterasu from her cave in ancient myth. Largely unchanged for the past 1,500 years, the dances are performed to the accompaniment of chants, drums, brass gongs, and flutes. The music is of two types: one to praise the spirits or seek their aid, the other to entertain the gods.