Kowakamai

• Japanese: 幸若舞 (kouwaka mai)

Kôwakamai is a form of dance-drama which was prominent chiefly in the Muromachi period. Though still performed today in a few places, it is most visible today where it has been incorporated into Noh performances.

The form originated in the early Muromachi period, with Momoi Kôwaka, and featured dramatic dances accompanied by chanting after the Buddhist style, and small and large hand-drums. Dancers wore eboshi, and split skirts. Most dances related warrior tales, and indeed the majority of those surviving today are based on episodes from the Tale of the Heike.

References

• Japanese Noh Drama: Plays Selected and Translated from the Japanese, vol. 3, Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkôkai (1960), 152n5.