Hiroshima City Kagura Troupe Performances Series April - June [Yuki Lodge]
Kagura performances by Hiroshima city kagura troupes are held on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of every month at Yuki Lodge.
Regular performances by Hiroshima city kagura troupes
Kagura has been dedicated to the fall festival to thank the gods for a good harvest of five grains.
Kagura, which is unique to each region, has been handed down.
Impressive experiences that can only be enjoyed here await, such as splendid and dynamic dances, gorgeous costumes, and the taiko and flute of the Hayashi side.
Kagura performances by Hiroshima city kagura troupe are held at Yuki Lodge on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of every month, so please take this opportunity to enjoy Hiroshima Kagura.
Event period
Held on the 2nd and 4th Sundays from 2024/4/14 (Sun) to 6/23 (Sun)
Event content
April 14th | Ayanishi Kagura Troupe | “Mt. Katsuragi-zan” / “Mt. Hiko” |
April 28 | Takai Kagura Troupe | “Takiyasha-hime (Lady Takiyasha)” / “Rashomon” |
May 12 | Suzuhari Kagura Troupe | Tenjin Ki / Masuya Oren |
May 26th | Omori Kagura Troupe | “Yama-uba” / “Momiji-gari” |
June 9th | Miyanogi Kagura Troupe | “Ichijo Modori-bashi” / Tamura Maru ~Four Demons in a Thousandes~ |
June 23 | demonstration! Hiroshima City Kagura Co-Performance Tournament |
※ The performing groups and programs are subject to change due to circumstances.
Summary of the plays
Long ago in Yamato-no-Kuni (current Nara Prefecture), high on Mt. Katsuragi-zan, there lived an ancient spider demon bent on throwing the world into chaos. When the great general Minamoto-no-Raiko falls terribly ill, the demon seizes on the opportunity to be rid of him. Raiko sends his maid, Koch, to fetch some medicine to cure him, but before she can return, the demon attacks her and possesses her body. The demon then brings Raiko poison, telling him that it is a potent medicine. Raiko takes the medicine, but realizes that Kocho has been possessed by the spider demon and attacks with his sword, a family heirloom with magical powers. The spider demon, bleeding, fees to its lair on Mt. Katsuragi-zan. Raiko entrusts the magical sword to his men and sends them to Mt. Katsuragi-zan to slay the spider demon.
Mt. Hiko
Having slayed the demon spider, Urabe-no-Rokurō Suetake heads home to the capital with his legendary sword, Kumokiri-maru, and companion Sakata-no-Kintoki. However, the demon Shuten-dōji, who lives on Mt. Hiko in Kyushu, has other plans. Aiming to take over Japan, he uses his sister, Ryūko-Takiyasha, to steal Suetake’s sword. Just as she is about to kill Suetake and Kintoki, the great god Iwashimizu Hachiman Daibosatsu appears, saving their lives. Hachiman tells Suetake where to find the demons so he can take back his sword and take on the demons.
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.
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.)
The Old Woman in the Woods (Yama-uba)
Minamoto-no-Raikō heads to conquer the Eastern Lands with his retainer, Watanabe-no-Tsuna. They come across Mt. Agero in Shinshū. Living on Mt. Agero is an old woman who was the wife of a warrior. However, when her husband died, she was cast out of the imperial capital. Harboring hatred for the world and its cruel people, she was reduced to becoming a mountain bandit with her only son, Kaidō-maru. The pair try to attack Raikō, but he overpowers them, and Kaidō-maru’s mother begs Raikō to spare her son’s life. Moved by the old woman’s plight to save her son, he forgives her and takes her son as his retainer, renaming him Sakata-no-Kintoki. He goes on to be one of Raikō’s four most trusted generals.
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
INFORMATION
- Duration
- 2024/04/14(SUN) - 2024/06/23(SUN)
- Time
- 4/14 (Sun), 4/28 (Sun),
5/15 (Sun), 5/26 (Sun),
6/9 (Sun), 6/23 (Sun)
Doors open at 12:00; start at 13:00; scheduled to end around 15:00
- Location
- Hiroshima City Kokumin Shukusha Yuki Lodge 2nd Floor Hall
- price
- 12 years and over 1,000 yen
4 to 12 years old 250 yen
Under 4 years old free
*Children under 4 years old are free when watching on their lap, but if they need a seat, there is a charge (250 yen).
- Application
Please contact Yuki Lodge.
*Tickets can be reserved in advance.
- address
- 2563-1, Oaza Tada, Yuki-cho, Saeki-ku, Hiroshima-shi
- Phone Number
- 0829-85-0111
- Website
- inquiry
Yuki Lodge 0829-85-0111