Instrumental music is an essential component of nōmai. The hayashi, or instru-
mental ensemble, plays an accompanimental role in performances, functioning
to: (1) open each piece with introductory music, (2) accompany both singing and
dancing, (3) bridge the various song and dance sections, (4) create the mood of
a particular scene (such as battle scenes in the warrior dances), as well as (5) con-
clude each piece.

An important Shinto influence in nōmai music is the hayashi instrumen-
tation of drum, cymbals, and flute. This combination of instruments parallels the
instruments used not only in local folk kagura forms such as Okunai kagura or
Nanbu kagura, but also in folk kagura throughout Japan. An example of the
direct connection between nōmai and folk Shinto music is the great similarity of
the kai no kudari instrumental piece, which accompanies both the lion's dance in
nōmai and the lion's dance of Okunai kagura.

The instrumental music of nōmai generally follows the same musical struc-
ture as folk kagura, in which a certain number of set pieces are repeated as often
as necessary, and the music is continuous and organized around rhythmic
cadences. The adoption of these folk kagura elements points to the tendency of
yamabushi to draw upon local Shinto performing traditions as a means of making
nōmai accessible to the local population.

Hayashi actually means "musical accompaniment," accurately defining the
instrumental ensemble's role. Principal musical instruments of the hayashi
include a taiko (cylindrical drum), tebiragane (cymbals), and fue (a bamboo
transverse flute) (see Photos 1, 2, 3). Both sacred and secular folk performing
traditions in Japan commonly use this instrumentation. The accompanying
ensemble of gigaku, which included one transverse flute, hip drums, and brass

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