Yamamura-ryu is the oldest school of Kamigata-mai.
It was established by a kabuki choreographer Tomogoro Yamamura in Osaka in the Edo period (1806).
People said, “Is the dance of Osaka Yamamura’s dance? Is Yamamura’s dance the dance of Osaka?”
Because of its elegant dance style, Yamamura-ryu flourished not only as choreography for hanamachi (pleasure districts) but also as an art form to be pursued by merchants’ children.
Junichiro Tanizaki, a famous novelist in Japan, also wrote the fourth daughter Taeko performing “Yuki (Snow)” of jiuta-mai (a local folkloric dance) of Yamamura-ryu in his work “Sasameyuki (The Makioka Sisters).”

Kamigata-mai is Japanese traditional dance founded and developed in the Kamigata area (Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe).
The dances of the Kanto area which were born from kabuki and developed as performing arts are called “odori,” while the dances of the Kamigata area were developed to be performed in a social gathering place “zashiki (tatami room)” are called “mai.” “Mai” was often accompanied by popular local songs called ‘jiuta” and is also known as “zashiki-mai” and “jiuta-mai.”
Having been carefully choreographed to be performed in a small space (that of one tatami mat) without raising dust, it excels in expressing emotions.
“Mai” is characterized by elegant and graceful dance-style, and there are many dances that express women’s emotions and sensibilities.