From Spirit Possession to Ritual Theatre—A Potential Scenario for the Development of Japanese Kagura

Abstract

The Japanese goddess Arne no Uzume no Mikoto bound up her sleeves with a chord of heavenly pi-kage vine, tied around her head a head-band of the heavenly masaki vine, bound together bundles of sasa leaves to hold in her hands, and overturning a bucket before the heavenly rock-cave door, stamped resoundingly upon it. Then she became divinely possessed, exposed her breasts, and pushed her skirt-band down to her genitals. (Philippi 1968:84)This description of the possession dance of the goddess Ame no Uzume no Mikoto in the eighth century Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) A.D. 712, to entice the sun goddess from her place of hiding, is held as the origins of kagura—a ritual dance performed by miko—female shrine attendants. The connection between myth and ritual is made early in Japanese history with the early ninth century Kogo shûi—a record of court rites stating that the successors of Ame no Uzume no Mikoto were an already extinct female priestly group, Sarume Kimi no Uji, and they in turn passed their skill on to the miko.