ramifications for various fields such as theater, folklore, anthropology, Asian
studies, religious studies, in addition to ethnomusicology.

I lived in Japan from September 1983 to August 1984 researching nōmai. In
that year I translated a broad spectrum of information pertaining to nōmai, doc-
umented performances, interviewed master performers, and observed training
sessions as well as cultural and community events of the area.

My fieldwork coincided with the period before, during, and after the new
year, since the most important and complete nōmai performances occur during
this time. For a five-week period--from December 11th to January 18th--I
resided in the farming village of Shishipashi, located in the central district of
Higashidorimura in northern Aomori Prefecture. During my stay there I also vis-
ited and documented three neighboring villages--Ōri, Iwaya, and Shiriya--in an
attempt to identify the regional parameters of nōmai. I chose these villages based
on the recommendation of Mr. Ōta, my main informant and a master nōmai
singer and dancer. His criteria took into consideration both the mastery of a
group and their retention of what he regards as the authentic nōmai style. Other
considerations included the quality of the musicians and the schedule of per-
formances.

Shishipashi was an ideal choice as the representative village because of its
skillful musicians; the retention of what is held to be the authentic music, song,
and dance style; and the opportunities I had to observe village life during my stay
there. While living in Shishipashi I attended rehearsals of the young men's asso-
ciation (seinenkai) responsible for performing nōmai. My participation in the
rehearsals included learning to play the bamboo transverse flute and small cym-
bals and observing the playing of rhythmic patterns on the double-headed barrel
drum. These three instruments form the nōmai instrumental ensemble. At one of
the rehearsals, Mr. Ōta taught me the folk dance, oiwake, which all neophyte per-
formers learn. In addition to observing the Shishipashi group, I attended the
rehearsals of two other seinenkai associations in the villages of ōri and Shiriya.

Documenting nōmai in the four villages involved sound recording and
videotaping or photographing performances and rehearsals. These materials
made it possible for me to compare the music and dance of each village. I
recorded six major performances: two in Shishipashi, one in each of the three
other villages, and a joint performance of all thirteen nōmai troupes in the annu-
al Higashidorimura Village Performing Arts Public Assembly.

Interviews with the leaders of the four nōmai groups took place in two
stages: the first were exploratory and the second served to resolve questions
raised in the informant's responses obtained in the first interview. These inter-
views informed me of the relationship of music to the dance, categories within
the repertoire, training of the performer, stylistic interpretations and performance
practices, and the function of nōmai within a community.

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