Appreciate
Dance of the Right Kochō at the Shōryō-e ceremony of the Osaka temple Shitennō-ji
Dancers: Members of Garyōkai, Tennō-ji Gakusho
Outline
Kochō (‘Butterflies’) is a children’s Dance of the Right.
It is said to have been created in 906, when Retired Emperor Uda (867–931, r. 887–97) viewed a children’s sumai (wrestling) tournament. The music is attributed to Fujiwara no Tadafusa, and the dance to the young Imperial Prince Atsumi (893–967).
It has long been performed as the ‘answering dance’ (tōbu) to Karyōbin at Buddhist ceremonies, where it is always a children’s dance. Adults do not dance it.
Structure of the Dance
The accompaniment for the dance as a whole is made up of four sections: 1. Koma-koranjō; 2. Koma-ranjō; 3. Konetori; and 4. Tōkyoku, the ‘piece itself,’ or Kochō.
After the Koma-koranjō, an instrumental prelude for solo transverse flute komabue, large drum taiko and gong shōko, the dancers enter during Koma-ranjō, which has a free-rhythm canon (omeribuki) on the flutes over equally spaced strokes of the taiko and shōko. The dancers perform the fixed entrance pattern known as zurute. Konetori, a short modal prelude for solo flute, solo reedpipe hichiriki, and hourglass drum san-no-tsuzumi, is followed by the central dance piece, the Tōkyoku. At the end of the dance, the dancers form a circle, and leave the stage from dancer number 4.
Costume
The dancers of Kochō wear costumes unique to this dance, made in small sizes suitable for children.
The green outer robe (hō) of the costume is embroidered with butterflies. A pair of wings is attached to each of the dancers’ backs. On their heads they wear a silver tenkan (crown), ornamented with artificial sprigs of yellow kerria rose, a flowering branch of which they hold in their hands. As a rule, heavy white makeup is applied to the children’s faces.
Points for appreciation
The costume is designed to emphasize the cuteness of the children as they dance. The wings attached to their backs flutter gently with their movements. At the end of the dance, they form a ring while leaping around the stage.
