In this postcard is a Bugaku dance performance (accompanied by a Gagaku orchestra) at Ise Jingū (Ise Shrine), probably during the Spring Kagura Festival. Gagaku (lit. "elegant music") is the oldest of the Japanese performing arts and encompasses three distinct arts: Kuniburi no Utamai (Shinto religious music and folk songs and dance, accompaniment by harp and flute), Komagaku (played as a dance accompaniment and uses only winds and percussion instruments), and Utamono (danced to vocal music whose texts include Japanese folk songs and Chinese poems). It was introduced into Japan with Buddhism from China, and has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto for several centuries. Influenced by the politics and culture of different periods, Gagaku continues to be transmitted in the Music Department of the Imperial Household Agency. It is not only an important cultural tool in confirming Japanese identity, but also a demonstration of how multiple cultural traditions can be fused into a unique heritage.
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