How did Japanese music and performing arts come into being?

Have you ever wondered how your country’s music was born?

Although the exact origin of Japanese music and performing arts is not known, the famous Japanese myth “Ama-no-Iwato Myth” also describes song and dance.

Let’s take a look at the “Ama-no-Iwato Myth” for a moment.

Ama-no-Iwato” is a cave made of rocks. One day, the Sun Goddess, unable to bear her younger brother’s wild behavior, holed herself up in Ama-no-Iwato, and the world was enveloped in darkness.
The eight million gods, greatly troubled, decided to carry out various maneuvers to get her to come out.

After much trial and error, the goddess, later called the goddess of the performing arts, came up with the idea of dancing.
When the Sun Goddess heard that the other gods who saw the dance were enjoying it, she wondered, “Why does everyone seem to be having fun when the world is so dark and everyone should be in trouble?” And, she opened the Ama-no-Iwato and asked her what was wrong.
So the gods took her hand and pulled her out of the cave, and the world is said to have regained its brightness.

This is the gist of the myth of “Ama-no-Iwato Myth.
According to one theory, the singing and dancing of the goddess of the performing arts that took place here is said to be the origin of Japanese music and performing arts.

If you also look into the origin of music in your own country, you may find interesting episodes.