Kagura

Japanese tradition treats Uzume's dance as the origin of kagura, the sacred performance still given at shrines, and the Sarume line who claimed descent from her served at court for centuries. It is an unusually concrete inheritance — most mythology leaves behind stories, and this one is credited with leaving an occupation. No one can draw a straight line from that cave to a dance performed this weekend, and the tradition has never needed one. The masks, the bells, the stamped floor and the watching crowd are still there, and tradition still names her at the head of the line.