Oslo Norway, 2001/9/1 Munch museum / Prof.Mark Teeuwen     The kagura performance at Oslo took place on the 1st of September, at the Munch museum in the eastern outskirts of the city. It was a rainy, chilly day, with a feel of autumn. We arrived at the museum at 10 AM to set up the stage. A long curtain was draped along two whole walls, hiding the performers from view. The stage area was marked on the floor with tape, and surrounded by a straw rope suspended from bamboo poles. A simple altar with offerings of fresh fruits and vegetables was set up at the back. By 12, this hall full of large, dramatic paintings by Edvard Munch had been utterly transformed into an exotic Japanese shrine.     We used the afternoon for a quick try-out; the timing, the acoustics, and the reactions from surprised visitors were so far so good. We put up a table outside the hall and exhibited the masks; the museum rooms were filled with performers walking about in stylish traditional dress. There was definitely a buzz in the air.     Half an hour before the performance was to start, it became clear that there were too few chairs in the hall. Even after we had stowed in all the chairs we could find, lots of people had to stand. I was told there were about 400 visitors; an all-time record for this hall.     The performance began with a simple purification ceremony. All bowed their heads while stealing glances at the spectacle. The performance started with the quiet and solemn Chichibu kagura, followed by the energetic and lively Buzen kagura. A Koreanist colleague was fascinated to see that the Kojiki myths were still alive today in this form. My 7 year-old daughter was very happy with the sweets she managed to catch, and proud of the fact that Sarutahiko hadn't managed to scare her -- not for lack of trying. Some friends who run a circus said that they were mesmerised by the energy of the Buzen performance, and inspired by Sarutahiko's insistence to harass the kids to tears.     When we came out after the performance, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining. All were very content to see that Ame no Uzume's dance had worked, even at this northern latitude.