Kumiodori is a national important intangible cultural asset and musical play that represents Okinawa. The photo is "Shusinkaneiri" by Chokun Tamagusuku


The Jikata is indispensable for Kumiodori

Kumiodori is a musical style composed of lyrics, dance and music. The lyrics are spread out in Ryukyuan poetry style, the moves contain the beauty of dance, and the music was performed mainly with the sanshin along with the Koto, Fue, Kokyu, and Taiko. Kumiodori was demonstrated for the first time as a performing art to welcome the Sapposhi in 1719. Its founder, Chokun Tamagusuku, the Odoribugyo - Magistrate of Performing Arts of the time, is said to have created the musical drama peculiar to the Ryukyus by referring to the mainland Japanese performing arts of Noh and Kabuki, which he saw during his numerous participation as an envoy in the pilgrimages to Satsuma and Edo.
The Uta Sanshin is effective in expressing the progress of the drama and in scenes portraying journeys or travels, but it is most important in expressing the characters' state of mind. The depth of the people's thoughts is described through music. Kumiodori is a spiritual drama because the music exists as a metaphor for the soul. Today, over 60 plays can be found in the Kumiodori scripts, but only about 10 are actually performed. Incidentally, Chokun Tamagusuku left us with his masterpiece, "Kumiodori Goban."