The type of musical entertainment known as Kusemai, which flourished in the 14th and 15th centuries mainly around Kyoto and Nara, is interesting in itself as representative of many such entertainments and, even more, for the influence it had on the developing art of Nō. Kusemai arose in about the second decade of the 14th century, but a number of similarities with Shirabyōshi show that it was closely connected with this earlier form. This and contemporary references in diaries and the like, mentions in the writings of Zeami, and the forms of Kusemai preserved in Nō plays, provide the main sources of information on the subject.It is clear from these that the main characteristic of Kusemai as an entertainment was its music rather than the dance, the function of which seems to have been primarily to accentuate the beat; and that the very strong beat dominated the music at the expense of the melody. Kusemai entertainments were given by men,women and boys,organized into small companies of players, but there was an added attraction in those given by women since, like Shirabyōshi, they always performed in male costume. Between 1368 and 1374, Kanami learned the Kusemai style of music from a woman player and introduced it into Sarugaku performances as a separate musical item. This was a revolutionary development, as the traditional style of music in Sarugaku was that of the Kouta, a very melodic, soft and gentle type in comparison with Kusemai. His introduction of Kusemai pices soon led to a continual blending of the two musical styles within Sarugaku, and to the use of both original and specially written Kusemai as the musical and literary hearts of most Nō plays, where they have come to be known simply as kuse. These and the mentions by Zeami provide a good picture of the structure of the independent pieces.Professional Kusemai groups seem to have largely disappeared from the area around the capital by about 1430, but a form of Kusemai itself has survived to the present day by its preservation within Nō plays
