Kocho (胡蝶)- Butterfly Dance of Bugaku

This video describes one of the performances of Bugaku, a Japanese court dance, called Kocho.

“Kocho,” literally means Butterfly, is one of Umai, the right dances, which is mainly performed by children. Umai is characterized by dance costumes that are green or blue.

The term “Umai” refers to a dance originally introduced from the Korean peninsula, while Samai, the left dance, refers to the one that came from mainland China. But ‘Kocho’ does not originate from the Korean Peninsula. It was actually created in Japan in 906, in the style of Koma-gaku, or music from Goryeo.

The costume for Kocho includes Tenkan, a silver crown, and wings made in the shape of a butterfly. Tenkan is adorned with cherry blossoms in spring and summer, and yamabuki flowers in autumn and winter, which are also held in the right hand of the dancers.

In the video, the dancer uses yamabuki flower because it was filmed on New Year’s Day. It forms a pair with “Karyobin,” literally “Chicks of Phoenix,” one of the left dances performed by children.