Kusemai

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Kusemai (曲舞or久世舞)was a popular Japanese form of song and dance with a strong irregular beat - emphasis is placed on the beat at the expense of the melody. This type of music particularly flourished around Kyoto and Nara, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The name can be roughly translated as "peculiar/unconventional dance." Although dance was originally involved with the performance, it was of minor importance, and probably involved the performer simply stamping the beat.The playwright Kanami incorporated it as part of the formation of his famous Noh theatre style.

[edit] References

Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Kan'ami"

The Structure of Kusemai [Qu] [wu]

P. G. O'Neill

Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 21, No. 1/3 (1958), pp. 100-110