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Judging Kagura Competitions
Standard Score Sheets[Adobe pdf file]

The first time I heard of a Kagura competition was forty-four or forty-five years ago. There were other types of competitions held prior to that time, but the term "Kagura Competition" dates only from the late 1940s. These days, Kagura competitions are held in many towns.

In the 1940s, fine arts performances were extremely popular, and Kagura was often part of the program. The best Kagura groups often competed with one another for the best performance of the day. Several groups began performing dances that had never before been seen (Takata County modern Kagura), but since first prize always went to groups performing new dances, groups specializing in traditional dances stopped performing. However, this was seen as counterproductive to the ultimate purpose of the competitions, which is to preserve and promote Kagura, so the judging procedures were standardized and the names "old style" and "new style" were given to performances to distinguish the new dances from the traditional ones. The old and new dances also were judged separately. This type of judging was first done by a Geihoku Kagura specialist, Shindô Hisahito.

It is very difficult to judge a Kagura performance. One must judge it based on how enjoyable it is, and how well it preserves the essence of the story. The score must reflect the actual performance. The performers put a great deal of emphasis on how the score reflects their performance and if this is not understood, then the ideals of preservation and tradition are in danger.

Using numbers is an expedient way of judging a competition, but it is no more than a way of ranking the groups. The aim of judging a performance is to criticize the group's performance in concrete terms. Each group's members are judged in the following three ways:
1) Individually- how an individual feels about his or her own performance
2) Group- how the group feels about its performance
3) By the judge- points given by a judge at a competition.
In the latter case, the following points must be kept in mind:
A) Groups train with the intent to fulfill the requirements printed on Score Sheet 1.
B) Each group automatically gets one hundred points at the beginning of a performance and then loses points for each mistake it makes. In other words, it is not about how many points one gets, but rather how many points one loses. (This reflects how well the group has trained).
C) One member from each Kagura group must attend the opening and closing ceremonies to make sure that everything for that day's performance is in order.
D) During the opening ceremony, the members of each Kagura group take an oath promising to do their best to keep the competition running smoothly and ensuring the dignity of each group.

It is no problem if two groups receive the same score. In fact, a tie is often desirable because then the group with more performers moves up or, in extreme cases, the group that seems to have had something lacking moves down. It is often said that who wins or loses is determined by the audience's applause, but applause is applause and judging is judging. If applause actually decided who won, there would be no need for five judges. A desire to win, as well as the group's integration of the ideals of preservation and promotion, has repercussions for the group. It is clear that mere applause cannot judge these things.

I would like to talk about my own experiences as a judge and what preparation is necessary to judge a Kagura competition.

The score sheet is sent to all the judges two or three days before a performance. When a judge receives the score sheet, there are several things he or she must do. The judge must make as many copies as is necessary of Score Sheet 2 (for individuals) and then fill out the sheets in exactly the same order as is provided. Of course, scores are filled in on the day of the performance. Modern styles and traditional styles are judged separately on Score Sheet 3. It is perfectly acceptable for the judge to record the scores for the modern and traditional styles at the post-performance judges' meeting. Only the highest score is written on the sheet. Score Sheet 4 is where the judge records the winners. The judge usually makes many copies of this sheet before the competition. There are also individual prizes awarded, so Score Sheet 5 is provided for this purpose.

When the judge has finished the above preparations, he or she fills in the scores while watching the competition. The score sheets serve as guidelines as to what to look for. Each score sheet has different criteria and maximum points, so the judge has to be paying attention. There are plans to standardize the score sheets in the future. Judges often ask which score sheets are the best, so I've made the following charts to serve as a guideline.

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NPO Hiroshima kagura Art Laboratory

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