Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 3.djvu/45

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In the absence of any rational connection between religious chaunts like the above and acrobatic performances of the nature of the Den-gaku, it seems reasonable to assume that the relation between the two did not extend beyond the borrowing of the Den-gaku stage and accessories for the purposes of the Buddhist dance. At the same time, the credit of originating a stage does not belong to the Den-gaku performers. Stages for the Kagura dance had long existed at many of the principal Shintōshrines—three in the province of Ise for the Daijin-gu services; three in Omi for the Hyoshi services; one in Tamba, one in Kawachi and one in Settsu for the Sumiyoshi services, and four in Nara for the Kasuga services. The Den-gaku stage was only a modified form of