Бесплатный фрагмент - Origins of Furyu

Code FURYU

The cultural code “FURYU” spells by two characters — “wind” and “flow” and can be literally translated as “folk trends brought by a wind”. The code has been set in the very first poetry edition “Manyoshu” of late 8th century where it is called MIYABI: “castle beauty”, or, in the modern Japanese language — “elegance”, “finesse”. Tracing evolution of FURYU through 12 centuries from 8th up to 21st century, it can be stated that it is not only the code, but also a nerve, which especially strains during the periods of isolation, social unease, changing of formations. On the first place FURYU applies to cultural sphere — theater (dances, songs), literature, art, architecture, clothes style etc. As a rule FURYU used to be generated by the people and sometimes those at the power tried to ban it by laws and regulations but generally both Emperor and the Shoguns had been overall neutral towards FURYU. In different times and epochs the term could be written and pronounced in miscellaneous variations — BASARA (8 — 14 centuries), UTSUKE and/or KABUKI (15 — 16 centuries), FURYU closer to the modern times. However, historians always use the word FURYU to accompany those different terms when they speak about the phenomenon.

Through the centuries

During the ruling of Emperor stationed in Kyoto, so called “the epoch of peace and calmness Heian” (794 — end 12 century) under BASARA-FURYU they mean first of all improvisation of the court music GAGAKU and ceremonial dances MAI.

During the ruling of Shoguns from Minamoto dynasty, so called “the epoch of Kamakura Shogunate” (end 12 century — 1333) BASARA became to be applied to indicate any kind of deviant behavior — neglecting traditions, lack of respect towards the elderly or higher ranked people, inaccurate clothing style etc.

In 14 century Shogun Ashikaga Tadayoshi prohibited BASARA by a law: any informal variations of songs and dances were banned, violators were subject for imprisonment.