Hiroshima City Kagura Troupe Performances Series April - June [Yuki Lodge]

Held on the 2nd and 4th Sundays from 2025/4/13 (Sun) to 6/22 (Sun)

Takiyasha-hime (Lady Takiyasha)
About 1,000 years ago, the aristocrats in Kyoto, the capital of Japan, lived in the lap of luxury while the people living outside of the capital lived in poverty. Angered at this disparity of wealth, General Taira-no-Masakado, a resident of the Kanto area, decided to overthrow the current government and create his own capital province in the east where wealth would be distributed more evenly. However, when the government received word of his plans, they ordered him and his entire family to be killed. This play centers on Takiyasha, the sole survivor of the Taira clan massacre. Seeking revenge, she is gifted dark magical powers by a god and assembles an army to destroy the government forces who murdered her family.

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Yamata-no-Orochi (The Eight-Headed Snake Demon)
In the land of Izumo-no-Kuni (current eastern Shimane prefecture), there lived an elderly couple with eight daughters. However, year by year and one by one, their daughters were eaten by a fearsome eight-headed snake demon called Yamata-no-Orochi. Left with only one precious daughter, the elderly couple was in despair over how to save her. It was then that the powerful god, Susano-o, happened upon the elderly couple and their daughter. When he asked why they were so sad, they told him the story, and he agreed to slay the demon in exchange for their daughter's hand in marriage. 'The elderly couple agreed, and Susano-o hatched a plan to slay the demon: he has the elderly couple make a barrel of poisoned sike, then, their daughter stands behind it, so her reflection is visible in the sake. Orochi would then consume the sake, thinking it was the daughter, and be weakened by the poison. Once weakened, Susano-o would attack and triumph over Orochi.
Susano-o’s plan works, and after slaying the demon, a sword falls from its stomach. Susano-o claims the sword as proof of his victory, and is becomes a national treasure.

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Susuhaki-no-Mai (Dance of Sweeping/Purification Ritual)
This performance purifies the stage before kagura is performed. It also drives away evil spirits as it is performed wearing a red-bearded mask with a long nose while holding an oni-bō staff and fan.

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Naginata-mai (Dance of the Naginata Pole Sword)
After the death of Pangu (primordial being and creation figure in Chinese mythology), his five sons, all princes in their own right, begin to fight over dividing their inheritance. This performance begins with the youngest prince, Prince Gorō, practicing with his naginata pole sword before heading into battle against the other princes. It is related to the play Shomōbun, a story of inheritance.

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Yatsuhana-no-mai (Eight Flower Petals) 
This performance features four swordsmen training for battle. When looking at the four dancers in a circle with their swords drawn, it looks like a flower unfolding, which is where the title, Eight Flower Petals, comes from. An extremely acrobatic and dynamic performance, Eight Flower Petals requires each dancer to be in sync with one another. According to a well-known Hiroshima-based kagura researcher, it is one of the most beautiful kagura performances in Japan.
This performance is steeped in battle techniques and elements, making it a truly exciting performance.

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The Heiji Rebellion
At the end of the Heian period, due to unfortunate circumstances, the tragic Emperor Emeritus Sutoku rose up and the Hōgen Rebellion began, a battle that would destroy the relationships of families that exclusively held the titles of sesshō and kampaku (powerful positions in the imperial court), as well as members of the Taira and Genji clans, pitting parents against children, brothers against brothers, and uncles against nephews. Taira-no-Kiyomori received unprecedented rewards for his part in the rebellion and stood at the precipice of greatness.
However, Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo, who also served loyally during the rebellion, even disgracing his name by killing his own father, did not receive the same treatment and was overwhelmed with anger and discontent. Fujiwara-no-Nobuyori took notice of Yoshitomo’s anger and used it to his advantage, telling him that he can imagine his frustration at his treatment, especially because he was the greatest military leader in all of Japan.
With these words from Nobuyori, Yoshitomo turns to the dark side and takes dramatic action with the might and fury of a riptide. When the entire Taira clan leaves for a pilgrimage to Kumano, leaving a brief power vacuum in the capital, Yoshitomo seizes his chance and rises up, taking control of the imperial palace and state affairs.
Taira-no-Kiyomori, blessed by the divine protection of Kumano Gongen, quickly returns to the capital and succeeds in rescuing the emperor, as well as raising the flag of the government forces and cornering Yoshitomo and his forces.
Knowing his forces were at a disadvantage, Nobuyori disgracefully panics, causing Yoshitomo to turn his back on him and escape to the eastern provinces. Left behind, Nobuyori is captured. He loses his composure and struggles before being held down and beheaded.
Believing that disorder in the imperial capital is the beginning of the end of the country, Kiyomori prays that he and his clan can make Japan into a mighty monolith of a nation.

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Modori-bashi Bridge (Part 2)
Each night at Modori-bashi Bridge, a strange creature appears, terrorizing the people. Minamoto-no-Raikō, in charge of protecting the capital, orders his finest fighter and one of his Four Heavenly Generals, Watanabe-no-Tsuna, to defeat the creature. Tsuna heads to the bridge to stand guard when Ibaragi-dōji, a demon who lives on Mt. Ōeyama in Tamba Province, appears. A battle ensues and Tsuna succeeds in cutting off the demon’s left arm; however, the demon manages to escape and flees to Mt. Ōeyama.
When Tsuna tells Raikō what happened, he warns him that the demon’s left arm has the potential to bring great misfortune and orders him to undergo a seven-day purification ritual. Back on Mt. Ōeyama, the demon Shuten-dōji laments the loss of his underling’s left arm and vows to get it back. He transforms himself into Tsuna’s old nanny, Shiratae, and head for Tsuna’s manor.
As Shiratae, Shuten-dōji pleads with Tsuna to show her the demon’s left arm. He turns her down at first, but eventually, gives into her emotional appeals and shows her the arm. Shiratae steals back the arm and then returns to her true form as Shuten-dōji and attacks Tsuna with his evil magic, incapacitating him.
Shuten-dōji then reattaches the arm to Ibaragi-dōji and the demons try to take Tsuna away with them to Mt. Ōeyama when Raikō and Urabe Rokurō Suetake burst onto the scene, having been warned about Tsuna in a vision from the god Iwashimizu Hachiman. As the demons and warriors battle it out, the demons use their magic to fly back to Mt. Ōeyama, escaping once again.

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Jinrin
The 14th Emperor of Japan, Tarashinakatsuhiko, faces a vast army of tens of thousands that have come to attack Japan from a foreign land. When the emperor hears that the army has at their command a winged demon known as Jinrin that flies upon a black cloud causing havoc, he takes up his heavenly bow and arrow, and together with Takamaro, sets out to defeat the demon. After a fierce battle, the emperor is victorious.

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Rashōmon
At Rashōmon, Watanabe-no-Tsuna cuts off the left arm of the demon Ibaraki-dōji and brings it back home with him. When Shuten-dōji learns that his underling’s arm has been severed, he hatches a plan to get it back by transforming into Tsuna’s old nurse, Shirotae. The demon’s plan works and Shuten-dōji attacks Tsuna with magic before reattaching Ibaraki-dōji’s arm. The demons then use their power to fly back to their home on Mt. Ōeyama. (This is the second play in the Mt. Ōeyama trilogy.)

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Momiji-gari (Maple Leaf-Viewing Party)
Originally a Noh chant, it was turned into a kagura play featuring Taira-no-Koremochi, a military commander during the Heian period, as the main character. When rumors reach the capital that demon women, who live deep in the forests of Mt. Togakushi in Shinshū, are terrorizing the people of the surrounding villages, Koremochi is ordered to destroy them and heads to Shinshū. But, the demon women, having heard that Koremochi is on his way, decide to lure him to a maple leaf-viewing party deep in the mountain forest. There, they pour him cup after cup of sake and once he’s inebriated, the demons strike. However, the god Yahata-no-Kami realizes the danger that Koremochi is in and sends his messenger, Takeuchi-no-Kami, to deliver a sacred sword to him. Regaining consciousness thanks to divine intervention, Koremochi uses the divine sword to defeat the demon women.

Chant: In a village without demons in Togakushi, the sun sets and tonight, the faces of demon women await

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