Changes

''Shosagoto'' first coalesced into a distinctive form in the [[Genroku period]] ([[1688]]-[[1704]]); it continued to evolve over the course of the 18th century, with ''[[nagauta]]'' music becoming the standard genre of music accompanying the dances. The form was pioneered by [[Segawa Kikunojo I|Segawa Kikunojô I]], who specialized in ''Dôjôji'' and ''[[Shakkyo|Shakkyô]]'' dances; ''[[Musume Dojoji|Musume Dôjôji]]'', one of the earliest extant ''nagauta'' dances, was debuted in [[1753]]. The nearly one hour long dance piece was adapted from the Noh play ''[[Dojoji|Dôjôji]]''. The ''shosagoto'' form was further developed by [[Nakamura Tomijuro I|Nakamura Tomijûrô I]], who combined all the previously-performed ''Dôjôji'' adaptations into a single dance piece, called ''Kyôganoko musume dôjôji''.

''Shosagoto'' first coalesced into a distinctive form in the [[Genroku period]] ([[1688]]-[[1704]]); it continued to evolve over the course of the 18th century, with ''[[nagauta]]'' music becoming the standard genre of music accompanying the dances. The form was pioneered by [[Segawa Kikunojo I|Segawa Kikunojô I]], who specialized in ''Dôjôji'' and ''[[Shakkyo|Shakkyô]]'' dances; ''[[Musume Dojoji|Musume Dôjôji]]'', one of the earliest extant ''nagauta'' dances, was debuted in [[1753]]. The nearly one hour long dance piece was adapted from the Noh play ''[[Dojoji|Dôjôji]]''. The ''shosagoto'' form was further developed by [[Nakamura Tomijuro I|Nakamura Tomijûrô I]], who combined all the previously-performed ''Dôjôji'' adaptations into a single dance piece, called ''Kyôganoko musume dôjôji''.

''Shosagoto'' were originally danced exclusively by ''onnagata'' playing female roles. However, by the 1780s, ''shosagoto'' danced by male characters began to emerge, in conjunction with the development of the ''[[tokiwazu]]'' and ''[[tomimoto]]'' musical genres, which were then applied to the dance pieces. Around that same time, actors such as [[Nakamura Utaemon III]] and [[Bando Mitsugoro III|Bandô Mitsugorô III]] pioneered a dance form called ''henge-buyô'' (lit. "transformation dance") in which a single actor transforms into a series of different roles as he moves through a series of consecutive dances of related themes, such as the four seasons or famous historical poets. ''Shosagoto'' continued to grow and develop in the 19th century.

''Shosagoto'' were originally danced exclusively by ''onnagata'' playing female roles. However, by the 1780s, ''shosagoto'' danced by male characters began to emerge, in conjunction with the development of the ''[[tokiwazu]]'' and ''[[tomimoto]]'' musical genres, which were then applied to the dance pieces. Around that same time, actors such as [[Nakamura Utaemon III]] and [[Bando Mitsugoro III|Bandô Mitsugorô III]] pioneered a dance form called ''henge-buyô'' (lit. "transformation dance") in which a single actor transforms into a series of different roles as he moves through a series of consecutive dances of related themes, such as the four seasons or famous historical poets. These ''henge-buyô'' pieces often shift between multiple different musical genres as they move from one character to another. ''Shosagoto'' continued to grow and develop in the 19th century.

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