Catalog of Shōdan: Dance
Maibataraki
Maibataraki is a virile and animated dance well suited for several types of characters, including dragon gods, goblins, or a deity appearing in Kokaji. Like all instrumental dances it has three layers: the dance, the nohkan, and the percussion instruments. The Maibataraki always includes taiko. The nohkan provides a cyclical melodic background, and through its recurring patterns it articulates the dance’s three parts: kakari, ji, and dan. The leading percussion instrument, the taiko uses its distinguishable kashira pattern to articulate the beginning and closing of its rhythmic cycles, which are synchronized with the nohkan's patterns, thereby helping articulate the dance’s three sections.
Kakari
Translated as ‘initiating something,’ the kakari is used to set the dance’s dynamic and upbeat mood. It is spread over two eight-beat measures (honji). The taiko leading the percussion section opens and closes with a kashira pattern that clearly delineates the section’s boundaries.
Ji
Ji, or ‘ground’ is a section in which the nohkan player introduces a core sequence of segments. It consists of three labelled a, b, and c, in the video, each one lasting one honji. They have a clear melodic quality that contrasts with the opening rhythmic patterns. The sequence can be interrupted after any of the three segments to move on to the closing dan section. In this recording, the Ji is played twice, but the second time, segment 'c' is dropped as the ensemble starts the closing section after the segment 'b.' The duration of the Ji coincides with the taiko’s first cycle of patterns, clearly perceptible with its opening and closing kashira pattern.
Dan
The beginning and end of the last section of the dance are once again clearly marked by the hayashi. The nohkan starts the four-honji dan with two new one-honji segments that help mark the start of the section. They are followed by a return of its segment ‘a,’ which leads to the cadential pattern tome. Its sequence of segments can be summarized with d, e, a, tome. The taiko helps articulate the beginning of the dan by dropping out during the first honji and creating a sudden decrease in density.
To help appreciate the complexity between the hayashi's four parts, the Maibataraki is presented at three different speeds: the original, at 75%, and at 50% of the original speed.