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Definition 2025

神楽

神楽

Japanese

Pronunciation

  • (Irregular reading)
  • (Tokyo) か​ぐら [káꜜgùrà] (Atamadaka - [1])[2]
  • IPA(key): [ka̠ɡ̃ɯᵝɾ̠a̠]

Noun

神楽 ‎(hiragana かぐら, romaji kagura)

  1. (Shintō) sacred dancing and music performed at Shintō ceremonies, often by miko, to honor Shintō spirits and gods
  2. bugaku (a type of traditional dancing and music) performed by regular people in front of a Shintō shrine
  3. a type of Noh dancing and music
  4. a type of kabuki musical accompaniment
  5. short for 御神楽 ‎(okagura, “a flat-topped house initially built with one storey, with additional storeys added later”)
Synonyms
  • (sacred dancing): 神遊 (かみあそ)び ‎(kamiasobi)
  • (type of bugaku): 里神楽 (さとかぐら) ‎(sato kagura), 太太神楽 (だいだいかぐら) ‎(daidai kagura)
Derived terms

Proper noun

神楽 ‎(hiragana かぐら, romaji Kagura)

  1. A surname​.

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
神 楽
かみ
Grade: 3 		がく
Grade: 2
yutōyomi

Compound of 神 ‎(kami, “spirit, god”) +‎ 楽 ‎(gaku, “music”).

Pronunciation

Noun

神楽 ‎(hiragana かみがく, romaji kamigaku)

  1. (rare) a type of dance in a Noh play, performed by the leading 翁 ‎(okina, “old man”) character

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
神 楽
じん
Grade: 3 		らく
Grade: 2
on'yomi

Probably from Middle Chinese 神楽 ‎(*jhin *lɑk, literally “god, spirit” + “happy; music”).

Pronunciation

Proper noun

神楽 ‎(hiragana じんらく, romaji Jinraku)

  1. A surname​.

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
神 楽
かむ > か
Grade: 3 		らき
Grade: 2
Irregular

Unknown.

Pronunciation

  • (Irregular reading)
  • IPA(key): [ka̠ɾ̠a̠kʲi]

Proper noun

神楽 ‎(hiragana からき, romaji Karaki)

  1. A surname​.

References

  1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
  3. ↑ 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, ISBN 4-09-501211-0

Etymology

神楽 (kagura): a performance of 八王子の舞 (Hachiōji no Mai) at Tokuyama Shrine.
Kanji in this term
神 楽
かむ > か
Grade: 3 		らく > ぐら
Grade: 2
Irregular

/kamukuɽa/ → /kankuɽa/ → /kanguɽa/ → /kaguɽa/

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 神 ‎(kamu, “spirit, god”) +‎ 座 ‎(kura, “seat”).[1][2][3]The kura changes to gura as an instance of rendaku (連濁). The original compound referred to the place used to call down the 神 ‎(kami, “spirits and gods”) to earth, when a 巫女 ‎(miko, “shrine maiden”) would act as a medium for the kami. Over time, the term came to refer to the music and dance of the ceremony. The use of the 楽 character here is an example of ateji, reflecting the change in meaning.

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