Catalog of Shōdan: Dance Music
Kamimai
As its name signifies, Kamimai (meaning 'god dance') belongs to the category of mai, similar to the jonomai which appears in Hashitomi. It is an instrumental dance exclusively used for plays in the first category, featuring a god as the main dancer. The Kamimai is known as the fastest of all the instrumental dances in Noh. Unlike other dances, such as jonomai, the Kamimai does not include significant tempo changes during transitions from part to part.
Like all instrumental dances, the Kamimai consists of three layers: the dance, the nohkan, and the percussion instruments. Notably, the Kamimai always includes the taiko drum, which articulates 16 strokes over an 8-beat measure using two sticks held in both hands. Once the taiko joins the ensemble, it leads the other musicians. The tempo is established, and transitions from one section to another are always indicated by the taiko player.
As is consistent with Noh's instrumental dances categorized as mai, the core musical sequence of patterns in the Kamimai is called Ji or 'ground.' The Ji consists of four eight-beat segments: Chū ('central'), Kan ('high'), Kannochū ('high and central'), and Ryō ('low'). Each segment's nohkan melody usually begins on the second-and-a-half beat of its honji. However, in fast dances like the Kamimai, nohkan players often start the Chū and Kannochū segments on the second beat of their honji. As typical for mai instrumental dances, the sequence of these four patterns produces a melodic line shaped like a long wave, with the Chū pattern in the medium range, Kan rising to a higher range, returning to the medium range in Kannochū, before descending to the lower range in Ryō.
The Kamimai consists of six sections: one kakari ('starting section') and five dan ('sections'). In contrast to the jonomai, this dance does not include a jo ('introduction') section.
Kakari
Kakari is a noun derived from the verb kakaru, which means “to initiate” or “to get into something.” The kakari in Kamimai begins with two melody segments also named kakari. The second segment is identical to the segments called dan, played at the beginning of each section. These two segments named kakari are followed by two segments from the Ji pattern. Altogether, these four segments form the first part of the kakari section. Part 1 is then followed by the Ji, which is repeated four times in this kakari to complete the section.
Dan
The section's name comes from the nohkan's opening pattern called dan. The beginning of each dan can be recognized by an extended ’iya’ kakegoe by the taiko player.
A dan includes two parts. Part I consists of a short sequence of new and recurring nohkan segments:
- Dan I - Part I has eight segments: Dan, Kannochū, Ryo, Oroshi (3 segments), Kannochū, and Ryo. (cf. measure 17-24)
- Dan II - Part I has seven segments: Dan, Kannochū, Oroshi (3 segments), Kannochū, and Ryo. (cf. measure 34-40)
- Dan III - Part I has ten segments: Dan, Kannochū, Oroshi (6 segments), Kannochū, and Ryo. (cf. measure 55-64)
- Dan IV - Part I is slightly different and is composed of: Dan (2 segments), Kannochū, Ryo, where all segments are eight beats long except for Dan, which lasts sixteen. (cf. measure 55-40)
- Dan V - Part I has 3 segments, which do not include Oroshi: Dan, Kannochū, Ryo. (cf. measure 88-90)
All Dan - Part II consists of the repetition of Ji as found in the kakari section. The number of repetitions of Ji differs from dan to dan. Each dan also differs in which segment of Ji the Part II closes. At the end of all mai dance, the nohkan player makes it a rule to add one non-congruent melody named Tome (‘to close’) after the final segment of Ji.
The structure of the kamimai as performed by the Kongō school can be summarized as follows:
| Kakari | Kakari | 4 * Ji (Chū, Kan, Kannochū, Ryō) |
| First Dan | Dan, Kannochū, Ryō, Oroshi, Kannochū, Ryō | 2 Ji + Chū |
| Second Dan | Dan, Kannochū, Oroshi, Kannochū, Ryō | 3 Ji + Chū, Kan |
| Third Dan | Dan, Kannochū, Oroshi, Kannochū, Ryō | 3 Ji + Chū |
| Fourth Dan | Dan (2 segments), Kannochū, Ryō | 1 Ji + Chū, Kan |
| Fifth Dan | Dan, Kannochū, Ryō | 2 Ji + Tome |
A note regarding the Oroshi pattern: it is common for Oroshi segments in Part I to be performed at a slower tempo, as Oroshi means “to slow down.” However, in Kamimai, the players maintain tempo to preserve the vigor of the performance.