Articles
The "Masters of Sacred Dance" in Eastern Japan during the Edo Period
Abstract
During the Edo period (1600-1868) some of the most important performances of sacred dance and music staged at shrines in eastern Japan were controlled by the association of "combinatory Shintō" under the direction of Tamura Hachidayū. Tamura served as the head priest of the Sanja Gongen (the tutelary shrine of Sensōji, the most popular templeshrine complex of Edo), and oversaw several hundred houses of "masters of sacred dance" (shinjimai dayū) who performed kagura and related genres at shrines in the Kantō area and environs. This paper analyzes the historical and functional relations of the religious institutions and arts performed to the organization that oversaw their production.
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