Hata no Kawakatsu

Hata no Kawakatsu (秦河勝), sometimes called Hada no Kōkatsu, was a legendary figure in Japanese folklore, who is believed to have introduced ritual

Konparu Zenchiku considered Kawakatsu to be a manifestation of the shukujin,^[1] a universal god of destiny. According to Zenchiku, Taiko Daimyojin can also be considered to be analogous to the deity Matarajin, formerly commonly worshiped by the Tendai school of Japanese Buddhism and associated with various performing arts, especially sarugaku and noh. The Kōryūji temple in Kyoto, according to legend created by Kawakatsu, is considered a prominent site of Matarajin worship.^[2]

In popular culture

According to a legend, as told by the preeminent Noh playwright Zeami, Hata no Kawakatsu first appeared as a child, during the reign of

As a result, the child was brought to the Court, by order of the Emperor, to serve as a Minister. He was given the family name of Chin (Qin), which was read as Hata in Japanese, and it was thus that the child came to be called Hata no Kawakatsu. Kawakatsu was then asked by Shōtoku Taishi to perform sixty-six dramatic pieces, in order to help settle disturbances in the land. The Prince made sixty-six masks to be used for this purpose, and the performances were then done at the Shishinden (Great Attendance Hall) of the imperial palace at Tachibana. Since this was successful in creating peace for the land, Prince Shōtoku decided that this form of entertainment should be kept for the ages, and dubbed it kagura (神楽, "entertainment given by the gods"). The form of entertainment known as sarugaku, along with its name, would later be derived from kagura.

In modern Japan

Due to his name, Hata no Kawakatsu is heavily associated with the

• Hata clan

References