Summary
Kusemai’s origins are unknown but it appears to have started in the late 15th to early 16th centuries. A Muromachi Period illustration titled Shichijuuichi-ban shokunin utaawase (七十一番職人歌合) depicts a kusemai performer in contrast to another shirabyōshi (白拍子) performer. Since the garments and musical accompaniment of both kusemai and shirabyōshi, which came about at the end of the Heian Period, are so similar some scholars believe that shirabyōshi is the root of kusemai.
A kusemai performance consists of a story/narrative tale and rhythmic musical accompaniment. The performer recites the narrative lines while dancing to the music . The dancer was either a man or a young boy (chigo, 稚児).
The young boy-dancer costume consisted of suikan (水干, Heian period-style garments), ōguchi (大口, a long, loose fitted, pleated skirt), and tall style eboshi cap. Adult male dancers wore warrior-class garments called hitatare (直垂) in place of suikan. Dancers also held a folding fan which served as a basic performance prop.
There are also performances called onna no kusemai (女曲舞) or jokyokumai (女曲舞) in which women wear the male performer’s clothes and perform kusemai.
The kusemai “Yamauba” and “Hyakuman” are said to be the oldest performances of kusemai, having been transmitted from time immemorial to the present. Also, kōwakamai, which is sometimes considered a style of kusemai, is known to have been created sometime in the Muromachi Period and has been passed down to the present day.
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