Nihon-buyō
[3][4] Nihon-buyō differs from other varieties of Japanese traditional dance, in that it is a refined style intended as entertainment on a public stage.
Until then, kabuki-buyō was referred to by various names such as shosagoto (所作事), keigoto (景事), furigoto (振事) or more simply odori (踊).
[13] Kabuki-buyō, listed as an important intangible cultural property since 1955, is performed by both a kabuki actor and a nihon-buyō dancer.
[14] Mai is a static and abstract movement with an emphasis on the ritual aspect, which is often present in the adaptation sequences of the nô theater;[15] odori is a dynamic and rhythmic movement resulting from nenbutsu-odori [ja], a dance invented by a Buddhist monk around the 10th century;[14] furi includes theatrical, dramatic and figurative body language (such as writing a letter, drinking sake, etc.
[24] The themes of the plays are plentiful: legends, classical literature, historical figures, crime stories, and life and customs in the Edo period.
It was around the Meiji period that the adaptation came closer to Noh: the majestic lion dance is performed by a tachiyaku (male actor) in the plays Kagami Jishi and Renjishi.
[36] Today, the genre of henge mono is broken down into several plays, one for each character, which are performed independently, like the famous play Fuji-musume, which was originally the first part of a series of five quick-changes: the girl changes into a blind person (zatō), a celestial deity (tenjin), a servant of the samurai (yakko) and a boatman.
The most famous henge mono plays are Sagi Musume, Shiokumi, Asazuma Bune, Ame no Gorō, Ukare Bōzu, Mitsumen Komori, Tomo Yakko and Kamuro.
[35] The goshūgi mono genre, which already existed in the Edo period in the field of music, consists of pieces created to celebrate the founding of a new school, the inheritance of a name or the inauguration of an establishment etc.
Also, around the beginning of the Meiji era, musicians broke away from the kabuki world, and school leaders performed new pieces every New Year.
These festive pieces, celebrating prosperity and auspiciousness, were given choreography, often in the style of Noh dance: this genre is called goshūgi mono, presented in general in the style called su odori (dance with the kimono or the hakama, without costume): Oimatsu, Hokushū, Shima no senzai, Ume no sakae, Matsu no midori, Tsurukame.
