Cute Noh pictures

I found some very cute Noh pictures drawn by a Japanese artist.  This artist drew some pictures of a scene from Benkei in the Boat (Funa Benkei), so I have added them to my review retroactively.  So darn cute!

Genji at Suma Bay (Suma Genji / 須磨源氏)

Program: Sakai Domonkai #205
Date: March 15, 2016
Venue: Hosho Noh Theater (Tokyo, Japan)

Story

This Noh play is often performed in the spring,
during the season of cherry blossoms.

Okinori Fujiwara, a high ranking official from Miyazaki Prefecture, and his followers are traveling to visit the Ise Shrine, and they decide to stop by Suma Bay on the way, to check out the cherry tree made famous by classic novel The Tale of Genji.  At Suma Bay, Fujiwara sees a poor elderly man crying in front of a cherry tree in full bloom.  The old man explains that this tree is in fact the famous cherry tree which Hikaru Genji (main character in The Tale of Genji) had planted, and starts talking about Genji's tale at Suma Bay:

Genji was a rising political star, but he was involved in a forbidden love affair with a girl he nicknamed Oborozukiyo (which means "spring night with a hazy moonlight" in reference to a poem she was reading when they met), who turned out to be a daughter of his political rival.  This love affair angered some important officials, and Genji was pressured to leave the capital and move out to a rural village by Suma Bay.  Separated from his lover as well as his beloved wife, Genji tried to ease the painful loneliness by planting a young cherry tree, in hopes to see cherry blossoms in the spring.

The old man advises Fujiwara to stay until the night, and that he will see Genji descend from the moon.  Fujiwara is convinced that this old man is Genji's incarnation, and decides to stay for the night.  At night, Genji's spirit appears along with music from the skies, revealing that he is a god who came down to save people.  (OK whatever.  Genji is a fictional character!)  In appreciation of the beautiful spring moon, Genji's spirit dances in joy, and disappears at dawn. 

My Comments

I almost fell sleep on this one.  I would not recommend it to beginner audience.  In the first act, the old man literally plopped down in the middle of the stage, and talked endlessly about Genji.  People in the audience were reading the transcript to follow the dialogue, but I did not get a copy (they had run out), so I had to listen to the old man's endless blabber without any idea what he was saying.

To appreciate this play,
you need to visualize this...

The second act was slightly better since Shite returned to stage as Genji and performed a dance in appreciation of the beauty of the moon.  This was nice, but it was still a bit dull because there was very little drama to the whole thing. 

According to internet resources, this Noh play is supposed to convey visual imagery of springtime beauty of the cherry blossoms (first act) and the spring moon (second act).  I think experienced audience would appreciate the imagery and the celebrative vibe of the play, but a beginner viewer like me would find this play to be quite uneventful.

The impressive thing was that the Shite was a female actress.  Interestingly, she was convincing both as the old man (first act) and as Genji (second act), though she was not forging a man's voice in either act.  I think it was the whole package consisting of her speaking style, movements and demeanor that made her convincing as the respective male characters.  I find that Noh actors/actresses have interesting impersonation techniques that are subtle and intriguing.

... and this...

I cannot find anyone on the internet saying this, so here it is, I said it first (maybe): My guess is that the author of this Noh play must have referenced Genji's joyful dance to celebrate the beautiful spring moon in relation to his love for Oborozukiyo.  My interpretation would make his dance so romantic, n'est-ce pas?

In any case, I would say this Noh play is definitely for experienced audience.

Photos courtesy of http://www.ashinari.com and http://www.beiz.jp

Prayer Service for Genji (Genji Kuyo / 源氏供養)

Author of a classic fiction requests prayer service for her novel

Program: Sakai Domonkai #205
Date: March 15, 2016
Venue: Hosho Noh Theater (Tokyo, Japan)

Story

Ishiyama Temple is famous for beautiful flowers
and cherry blossoms.

A monk and his two followers are traveling from Kyoto to Ishiyama Temple in Shiga Prefecture and enjoying the scenic route, when they are stopped by a village woman.  The woman, who is actually the ghost of Murasaki Shikibu (author of classic novel The Tale of Genji) in disguise, explains to the monk that Shikibu's soul is suffering in purgatory because she did not offer prayer service for Hikaru Genji, the main character of her novel.  The woman asks the monk if he can offer a prayer service for Genji, so that Shikibu can reach Nirvana and rest in peace.

The monk is skeptical if the woman's story is true.  When he reaches Ishiyama Temple, the ghost of Murasaki Shikibu returns as herself.  Convinced that she is telling the truth, the monk starts praying for Genji and Shikibu.  The ghost of Shikibu thanks the monk and asks how she can repay for the prayer service.  The monk says there is no such need, and asks if she can perform a dance.  Shikibu dances to a chant with lyrics featuring elements from her novel.  She also hands the monk a scroll on which she wrote the novel, and asks for Lotus Sutra to be scripted on the back of the scroll as memorial service for Genji.  In the end, it is revealed that Murasaki Shikibu is the Guanyin (Buddhist Goddess of Mercy) guarding the Ishiyama Temple, and that she wrote The Tale of Genji to convey the transience and fragility of earthly life.

My Comments

Ishiyama Temple is known today as the place where Murasaki Shikibu started writing her famous classic novel The Tale of Genji, on which many popular Noh plays are based.  I found it quite strange that a prayer service is necessary for Hikaru Genji, a fictional character, and that otherwise the author would suffer in hell.  According to resources on the internet, in the ancient times, writing fictional novel was considered sinful and against Buddhist teachings, because fictions are untruthful and exaggerated.

Stone pagodas and mountain
azaleas at Ishiyama Temple

In the lobby of the theater, they were handing out sheets of the play's transcript.  So most people in the audience were reading the transcript as they followed the play.  Unfortunately, they ran out before I got hold of a copy, so I was unable to follow the dialogue.  Without understanding the words, the first half of the play was a bit slow, since it consisted mainly of dialogues.

In the second half of the play, Shite returns on stage as the ghost of Murasaki Shikibu (no longer in disguise) wearing a beautiful kimono.  I loved the kimono she was wearing.  The second half was much more intriguing, as Murasaki Shikibu performed a dance to thank the monk for his prayer service.  The dance was very elegant and beautiful, and the play ended on a positive note that she can finally rest in peace.

Noh dances are subdued and serene, and deeply expressive.  I enjoy watching the dances, because I do not need to understand the lyrics in order to appreciate the expressiveness of the dances.  Still, I would have gotten more out of the play had I understood the transcript, since the chants were also very beautiful.  Apparently, the lyrics to the final dance song featured word play on the volume titles of the Genji novel, and hence the song was the highlight of this play, but obviously I did not get it :P  Still enjoyed watching the dance very much!

Photos courtesy of http://blue-wind.net

Upcoming Reviews

Following reviews coming soon:

- Memorial Service for Genji (Genji Kuyo)
- Genji at Suma Bay (Suma Genji)

Noh Tickets

I was hoping to go see The Flower Basket (Hana Gatami) on Sunday, but was not able to get in.  I had other plans in the morning, and there was a slight chance I would not make it to the show, so I had not bought the ticket in advance.  I was planning to buy the ticket once I arrive at the theater.  But when I called them, they said they were sold out.  I am starting to learn that Noh has a relatively large fan base, and that tickets are actually sometimes hard to get...

Terminology

The Basics

1) Noh - Classical Japanese musical drama.  Themes of the plays are typically based on historical events or classical literature.  There are five categories of Noh plays depending on the type of character portrayed by the Shite -- god, warrior, female, demon, and miscellaneous (e.g. mad person, ghost, etc.).

2) Kyogen - Classical Japanese comedy.  Kyogen plays are often performed before a Noh play or between two Noh plays.  Pronounced with a hard "g".

The Performers

1) Shite - Actor who specializes in playing the lead roles.  Pronounced as shee-TAY.  When not playing the lead role, a Shite also has other responsibilities such as singing in the chorus, directing the stage, supporting the lead Shite, etc.  Shite actors are Shite for life; there is no switching to other types.

2) Waki - Actor who specializes in playing supporting roles.  Pronounced as wah-kee.  Waki actors are Waki for life; there is no switching to other types.

3) Kyogen - Actor who specializes in playing comic roles.  Kyogen actors are Kyogen for life, and do not switch to playing Shite or Waki in Noh plays, but they do sometimes appear in Noh plays as comic relief or interludes.

4) Hayashi - Musician.  Four types of instruments (a flute and three types of drums) are used in Noh plays, and each musician specializes in one of them only.

(C) Kyoran / Nohgaku Illust

Benkei on the Bridge (Hashi Benkei / 橋弁慶)

Encounter of two historical icons

Program: Know Noh #48
Date: February 11, 2016
Venue: National Noh Theatre (Tokyo, Japan)

 

Story

Benkei (left) fights young Ushiwaka

Benkei was a big and strong warrior monk, who had been assigned to do rounds of nightly prayer visits to the Gojo Shrine in Kyoto.  On his last day, he hears a rumor that a young boy with incredible sword skills has been challenging people to sword fights on the Gojo Bridge, and beating everyone.  Benkei, a skilled fighter, decides to go and catch the troublemaker.  When Benkei arrives at the Gojo Bridge, he sees the young boy with a blouse covering his head, and mistakes him as a woman.  As Benkei passes by, the boy teases him by kicking Benkei's long-pole sword.  Provoked, Benkei fights the boy, but is easily defeated by the boy's incredible speed and sword skills.  Benkei surrenders and asks the boy for his identity.  When Benkei finds out that the boy is Ushiwaka (Yoshitsune's childhood name), son of Yoshitomo Minamoto, Benkei swears to serve Ushiwaka to be his servant.


My Comments

Before the play started, a scholar came on stage and talked about Benkei:
Even though Benkei is an extremely popular historical character, very little written record is available; therefore most of his stories are based on folk legends, including this one.  According to popular folktale, it was Benkei who was challenging people to sword fights on the Gojo Bridge.  In Noh, this is vice versa for some reason. 

I guess it just shows that, regardless of factual accuracy, people love the story of Benkei the big goliath and Ushiwaka the tiny little boy.  This story marks the beginning of Benkei's lifetime relationship to serve Yoshitsune, until he dies trying to protect Yoshitsune.  But that is also a popular folktale.  The only known fact is that Benkei accompanied Yoshitstune as he fled from his brother Yoritomo, who wanted to capture and kill him.

Ushiwaka was played by a little girl (Shite's granddaughter).  The sword fight scene was relatively slow but charming nonetheless.  Not much else to comment on.  I did notice that the old Kyogen actor who played one of the townspeople had an amazing voice.  He was an old man with a raspy voice, yet his voice resonated so well.  I really need to find out how these actors train their voices...