Buyō

Buyō (舞踊^?), or Nichibu (日舞^?) short for Nihon buyō/Nippon buyō (日本舞踊^?) meaning Japanese dance, refers to a traditional Japanese performing art that may be a mixture of dance and pantomime. It begins with early dance traditions such as mai and odori, with major development in the early Edo period (early 17th century) in the form of kabuki dances, which incorporated elements from the older dance genres. Nihon buyō differs from other Japanese traditional dances in that it is intended for entertainment on stage. While performed independently by specialists, it is particularly conspicuous as the style of dancing performed by geisha.

The term buyō however is a modern coinage during the Meiji period as a general term for "dance". The writer Tsubouchi Shōyō is said to have first used the term Nihon buyō. Prior to this, dance was generally referred according to its particular dance genre, such as mai and odori. The term is a combination of mai (舞, which can also be pronounced bu) and odori (踊, can also be pronounced yō).

Nihon buyō is a broad genre of dances that have been refined and improved over four centuries. There are three main elements to Nihon buyō – mai, odori, and furi. Mai is a refined, reserved, and expressive style of dance with few jumps or quick movements; odori is a more energetic dance style, with leaps and lively movements; and furi is the gestures and pantomime movements from kabuki dance.

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