Abstract
The present bugaku can be classified into two styles. One is “bugaku in the central area” which directly derived from the former Sampo-gakuso (performance departments in Nara, Tennoji and Kyo) and the other style is “bugaku” originated from local areas. These two styles are both considered bugaku movements and have been passed on through many generations. However these two performance styles differ widely from each other. There have been two contradictory theories of the development of local area bugaku. The performances have changed after receiving “influences from the central area” and the other is some performances included “traditional central area style of bugaku”.
It is acceptable that people in the local area was inherited bugaku from central area, because bugaku is “metropolis culture” itself for local people and there have been “a longing for a metropolis culture”. Bugaku was invited into the local area to pass down the heritage of bugaku to satisfy this need behind the scenes. Despite these efforts, as time passes the interest of the original bugaku style has faded. It is hard to reach a conclusion of what local area bugaku is after various “local variations” have been developed. The latter theory may suggest answers to solve this contradiction, but it has not yet to be conclusive.
In my previous research, I confirmed central area bugaku during the medieval times was a dance which consists of ashibumi _??__??_, simple stamping movements and forward-leaning postures _??__??__??__??_ as the main elements. In this paper, I pointed that bugaku in the local area consists of the same elements and includes stretching the body and standing on the tip of ones toes as a closing to movement patterns in places. This can be identified as nobitatsu _??__??_ in Shochu-yoroku _??__??__??__??_, notation for bugaku completed during the 12th and 13th century in Nara. Whereas in bugaku in the central area today, we can see fundamental rules of footwork of “stepping one foot to side, drawing the other foot to the closed position and then repeating the same movement reverse”, calling it a uho, _??__??_ footwork. I proved that this footwork is not seen in the medieval documents, but since the middle of the Edo period from researching footwork of bugaku in the local area.
Movements such as ashibumi, keeping the forward-leaning posture, nobitatsu, chottosu _??__??__??__??_, suru _??_, and uho-footwork can be an individual symbolic movement from a specific period in the central area. In conclusion, one can tell that these movements are vestiges of influence of the central area from a specific period. By finding out the vestiges in bugaku in local area, we can understand the tradition of bugaku in the local area and its state more deeply.
