Trapping the Heron: The Curious Case of Sagi School Kyōgen

This article examines the transformation of Sagi, the third school of the traditional comedic performing art kyōgen, from a recognized professional form in the Edo era (1600–1868) to a community-based practice during the Meiji period (1868–1912). Through field and archival research, I will consider the challenges Sagi kyōgen faces operating outside the professional model of the institutionalized iemoto (school grandmaster) system and demonstrate how regionalization plays a key role in interpreting Sagi kyōgen's unique contemporary practice.