| Description |
“Akiu no Taue Odori” is a folk performing art, expressed mainly by the dance which reminds of the rice cropping, with background music of drums and other instruments.
The music for this rice cropping dance is played with big and small drums, flutes, and songs. The dancers are two or four males, depending on a case, as facilitators, and currently about ten females. Females are well dressed up with colorful and fashionable kimono and wear a headdress decorated with artificial flowers. Dances are performed outdoors by females aligning in a line, or sometimes in two lines depending on the space and the number of dancers.
The repertoires transmitted to-day are six to ten depending on communities. Each repertoire begins with blessing terms by facilitators who appear from both ends of a line. Dancers perform to the music, alternatively holding fans or sticks with bells on it according to a repertoire. The choreography of these dances reminds people there of the rice cropping. During dances they pray for the best harvest, believing that thus celebrating an abundant harvest in advance may make it true in that autumn; the dance is to bless people. The performance is characterized with facilitators’ progressing and its quite beautiful dances.
“Akiu no Taue Odori” is cultural heritage transmitted to-day with its dances begun in the late seventeenth century in the region, wishing for an abundant harvest of the rice cropping. Designated as Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1976, it is currently recognized as such an element of important cultural heritage as widely indicates the transition of Japanese life style.
The rice is a principal foodstuff to Japanese since old time. Therefore, its abundant harvest was a really serious wish to them, quite differently from today’s circumstances. The weather immeasurably affects the rice cropping or agriculture in general. As affect of the weather is unavoidable, they prayed for a good harvest by simulating an annual process of the rice cropping before actual cultivation.
In an entire process of the rice cropping, taue, i.e. transplanting of seedlings, is especially important; they first seed rice plant in a small section, and when seedlings grow a little, they transplant seedlings onto a wider rice field filled with water. Such transplantation is a traditional knowledge for the prevention of pests and the alleviation of temperature changes.
“Akiu no Taue Odori” is a simulation dance for an abundant harvest in order to pray for it, believing that a previous celebration of a possibly abundant harvest of the year may secure an actual good harvest in autumn. The people has sophisticated the dance and developed it to a more spectacular performing art.
Becoming a spectacular performing art, it has been transmitted from generations to generations by the people in the communities. Until the early twentieth century, it was performed on every January 15th in each community. Because of such an entertaining element as a beautiful appearance in addition to praying for an abundant harvest, they were often invited by other neighboring communities to perform there. The number of dancers at that time allegedly transcended fifty.
Later, the opportunity of invited performance of “Akiu no Taue Odori” declined in number, the season of performance shifted from a severe winter to April or May or to autumn, and the number of dancers dropped to approximately ten. However, it has continued to be performed every year up to-day.
The transmitters’, or practitioners’, groups of the performance and the people living in those communities are proud of it before other communities’ groups or societies, and they consider it to be one of their own distinctive cultures. The transmission and the performance of “Akiu no Taue Odori” in front of the public would reconfirm the identity of the transmitting groups and communities, and thus contribute to the continuity of those groups and communities.
“Akiu no Taue Odori” is a folk performing art transmitted by ordinary local people for a long time and still performed to-day. Its music and dances reflect Japanese sentiment on performing arts. The background of the transmission and the performance of “Akiu no Taue Odori” indicates the Japanese concept on an agricultural life and the nature.
As mentioned above, “Akiu no Taue Odori” has a significant meaning in today’s Japanese society and culture. The transmitters as well as practitioners of the performance are eager to transmit what they have inherited to the future generations. |
| Social and cultural significance |
“Akiu no Taue Odori” is a folk performing art, expressed mainly by the dance which reminds of the rice cropping, with background music of drums and other instruments.
The choreography of these dances reminds people there of the rice cropping. During dances they pray for the best harvest, believing that thus celebrating an abundant harvest in advance may make it true in that autumn; the dance is to bless people. The performance is characterized with facilitators’ progressing and its quite beautiful dances.
“Akiu no Taue Odori” is cultural heritage transmitted to-day with its dances begun in the late seventeenth century in the region, wishing for an abundant harvest of the rice cropping. Designated as Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1976, it is currently recognized as such an element of important cultural heritage as widely indicates the transition of Japanese life style.
The rice is a principal foodstuff to Japanese since old time. Therefore, its abundant harvest was a really serious wish to them, quite differently from today’s circumstances. The weather immeasurably affects the rice cropping or agriculture in general. As affect of the weather is unavoidable, they prayed for a good harvest by simulating an annual process of the rice cropping before actual cultivation.
“Akiu no Taue Odori” is a simulation dance for an abundant harvest in order to pray for it, believing that a previous celebration of a possibly abundant harvest of the year may secure an actual good harvest in autumn. The people has sophisticated the dance and developed it to a more spectacular performing art.
Because of such an entertaining element as a beautiful appearance in addition to praying for an abundant harvest, they were often invited by other neighboring communities to perform there.
The transmitters’, or practitioners’, groups of the performance and the people living in those communities are proud of it before other communities’ groups or societies, and they consider it to be one of their own distinctive cultures. The transmission and the performance of “Akiu no Taue Odori” in front of the public would reconfirm the identity of the transmitting groups and communities, and thus contribute to the continuity of those groups and communities.
“Akiu no Taue Odori” is a folk performing art transmitted by ordinary local people for a long time and still performed to-day. Its music and dances reflect Japanese sentiment on performing arts. The background of the transmission and the performance of “Akiu no Taue Odori” indicates the Japanese concept on an agricultural life and the nature. |
| Transmission method |
“Akiu no Taue Odori” is a folk performing art, expressed mainly by the dance which reminds of the rice cropping, with background music of drums and other instruments.
The music for this rice cropping dance is played with big and small drums, flutes, and songs. The dancers are two or four males, depending on a case, as facilitators, and currently about ten females. Females are well dressed up with colorful and fashionable kimono and wear a headdress decorated with artificial flowers.
The repertoires transmitted to-day are six to ten depending on communities. Each repertoire begins with blessing terms by facilitators.
“Akiu no Taue Odori” is cultural heritage transmitted to-day with its dances begun in the late seventeenth century in the region and it was designated as Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1976.
“Akiu no Taue Odori” is a simulation dance for an abundant harvest in order to pray for it, believing that a previous celebration of a possibly abundant harvest of the year may secure an actual good harvest in autumn. The people has sophisticated the dance and developed it to a more spectacular performing art.
Becoming a spectacular performing art, it has been transmitted from generations to generations by the people in the communities. Until the early twentieth century, it was performed on every January 15th in each community. Because of such an entertaining element as a beautiful appearance in addition to praying for an abundant harvest, they were often invited by other neighboring communities to perform there. The number of dancers at that time allegedly transcended fifty.
Later, the opportunity of invited performance of “Akiu no Taue Odori” declined in number, the season of performance shifted from a severe winter to April or May or to autumn, and the number of dancers dropped to approximately ten. However, it has continued to be performed every year up to-day.
“Akiu no Taue Odori” began in the late seventeenth centuries, and was performed on every January 15th not only inside the community but also in neighbouring communities if invited by the early twentieth century. Later the transmission faced the crisis of distinction because of the change of people’s consciousness, the decrease in invitation from other neighbouring communities, the performance season’s shift from cold winter to spring or autumn in the transmitting community, and the fewer and fewer dancers under the social major transition. In these circumstances, however, the transmitters endeavoured to succeed and transmit the performance as one characteristic culture which could strongly combine the people of the communities.
Indication of the importance of “Akiu no Taue Odori” by people outside the community reinforced their endeavour to transmit it. The modern academic researches on folklore and folk performing arts began in the early twentieth century in Japan. Researchers were also interested in “Akiu no Taue Odori”; they went there for constant researches on it, made clear the importance in the history of Japanese performing arts and its folkloric characters, and insisted upon the importance to transmit it to the future. Such outcomes of researches motivated successors very much to continue to transmit.
The local government of Miyagi Prefecture designated it as intangible cultural property of Prefecture, and in 1976 the National Government designated it as Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Such designation as cultural property means an official recognition of the importance of the performance. Thus, indication of the importance by non-transmitters or by non-transmitting communities motivates the transmitters very much to continue their transmission.
Indication of the importance as mentioned above has a significant impact upon not only performers but also the people who sustain transmission. “Akiu no Taue Odori” is also sustained by many people inside and outside the community who understand activities of transmitters and support the transmission and the public performance of it. Participation of more and more supporters is indispensable to better transmission to the future. |
| Community |
Association for the Preservation of Akiu no Taue Odori |
| Type of UNESCO List |
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity |
| Incribed year in UNESCO List |
2009 |
