ARTIST
Oide Kagura
Rikuzentakata City, Iwate
Traditionally, only hoin (or yamabushi, mountain hermits) and Shinto priests had been allowed to perform kagura, but the regulation changed in Meiji period (1868-1912). Then those with interest learned it from two masters Keiji Sugawara and Kiyoshi Chiba from Nagashima village, Higashi-Iwai district (currently Hiraizumi town, Nishi-Iwai district) in 1894, to pray for bountiful harvest and good fortune of soldiers in battles.
The Oide Kagura belongs to the lineage of the Nanbu Kagura, with its repertory abundant in pieces related with the Japanese mythology.