kagura; traditional Shinto music and dance
A sacred performance offered to the kami, often featuring masked dance, flute, and drums. The term covers both formal shrine kagura and folk variants.
At the autumn festival, they dedicated a kagura performance to the shrine.
Kagura was performed as an offering at the shrine festival.
The sound of the kagura flute echoed through the shrine grounds.
The sight of the shrine maiden dancing kagura was beautiful.
The local young people performed the traditional kagura.
神楽 is Shinto ritual dance performed to entertain or please the gods at shrine festivals, whereas 舞楽 is the more formal court-derived dance tradition, historically tied to the imperial court as much as to shrines.
Used for kagura (sacred Shinto dance-music) when referring to a performance or program, as in 一座 (issa), though it's often counted without a specific counter instead.
imperial kagura; sacred Shinto music and dance at the imperial palace
grand kagura performance at Ise · type of performance with lion dance and juggling · Camellia japonica 'Daikagura'
cloud of ashes
kagura hall (at a shrine)
eleventh lunar month
kagura song
kagura hall; sacred dance stage
kagura flute; six-holed horizontal flute used in Shinto music
bluntnose sixgill shark
Standard kanji spelling; the reading かぐら is a jukujikun.
Originally 神座 (かむくら, 'seat of the kami'), referring to the place where a deity was invited to descend. The reading shifted to かぐら, and the kanji 神楽 ('kami music') became standard.
village kagura; local kagura performance
grand kagura performance at Ise