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...

Lady Aoi (Aoi no Ue / 葵上)

Story of a woman's painful vengeance over lost love



Aobanomori Hall is a concert hall with a demountable Noh stage.
Can't believe this Noh stage was assembled just for this one day!

Program: Aoba Noh #35
Date: February 21, 2016
Venue: Aobanomori Park Art and Culture Hall (Chiba, Japan)

Story

Here is a good synopsis in the-noh.com

My Comments

I had expected Lady Rokujo to be a demonic crazy woman, full of rage and jealousy.  But she was surprisingly classy, complicated, and heartbreakingly sad.  Lady Rokujo's repressed devotion for Genji and jealousy towards Lady Aoi had turned her spirit into a raging phantom, but this was unintentional, and she was embarrassed of her own transformation.  There were signs of ambivalence and confusion in her attack towards Aoi.  In the end, Rokujo is defeated by the power of priest's prayers, and her raging spirit withdraws back to sanity.  But I think her "salvation" amplifies her tragedy because she has to live the rest of her life dealing with this shameful fiasco that she caused (not to mention loss of Genji's affection).

Shite (lead actor)'s portrayal of Lady Rokujo' spirit was deeply moving and drew a great deal of empathy from me.  I think any woman (or man) could relate to the helpless feeling of being overcome with uncontrollable emotions, while still holding on to that last thread of reason, self-respect, and dignity.  From the moment Shite entered the stage, his portrayal of Rokujo was both elegant and heart-wrenching.  I had expected a crazy woman's battle for vengeance, but the play was actually about her painful internal battle and acceptance of loss of love.  Very profound and heartbreaking.

Love this beautiful flyer

I particularly enjoyed the scene in which the priestess used a harp-like instrument called Azusa no Yumi to summon the phantom.  Of course, this is Noh, so there is no harp in sight; you've gotta feel it.  One of the drummers portrayed the sound of the harp, using his voice and his drum.  His voice was deeply hypnotic and actually sounded like some kind of harp.  The scene then leads to the entrance of Rokujo's spirit, who is summoned by the sound.  This entire sequence was beautiful and haunting.

I also found it interesting that Lady Aoi was portrayed not by an actor but by a piece of cloth (a kimono) placed on the stage.

[Edited on March 12th] Also, I found it peculiar that Lady Rokujo supposedly enters the stage in a horse carriage, even though there is no horse carriage.  Audience has to "see" the imaginary horse carriage by the way she carries herself as she walks across the stage.  I am learning that Noh audience needs to do quite a bit of imagining, because the actors rarely use large props.  When Rokujo entered the scene, I could kind of see the carriage imagery, by the way she covered herself with a cloth (hard to explain), but I would never have noticed it had I not read about it in the synopsis beforehand.

Benkei in the Boat (Funa Benkei / 船弁慶)

 Popular tale of a tragic hero, his sidekick warrior monk, and devoted lover

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

Story

Benkei is the monk in white scarf
shown at the top of this flyer

Yoshitsune Minamoto was an outstanding warrior, whose strategic war skills contributed to Minamoto clan’s epic victory over the Taira clan in the historic Sea Battle of Dan-no-Ura, which took place in the Shimonoseki Strait in southern Japan (1185 A.D.).  After the win, Yoshitsune’s big brother Yoritomo Minamoto established a new military government in Kamakura and became its first shogun.  However, due to Yoshitsune’s dogmatic behavior, Yoritomo now saw his little brother as a threat, issuing an order to have him captured and killed.  Yoshitsune, now a fugitive, fled to western Japan, accompanied by Benkei (guardian warrior monk) and Lady Shizuka (Yoshitsune's mistress).  When they arrived at a small inn west of Kyoto, they set plans to ride a boat down Yodo River, out to the sea to go even further west.

This is where the story of this Noh play starts.

Act 1: The first half of the play is set at the inn, where Benkei tries to persuade Shizuka to return to Kyoto, since a woman would not endure the arduous trip ahead.  Shizuka is determined to stay with her lover Yoshitsune, but when Yoshitsune himself suggests that Shizuka return to Kyoto, she tearfully agrees to leave.  The tearful party share farewell drinks, and Shizuka performs a dance to pray to the gods that some day the Minamoto brothers would reconcile.  Yoshitsune requests Benkei to delay their departure until the next day, so he can spend his last night with Shizuka, but Benkei persuades him that they set sail immediately.

(C) Kyoran / Nohgaku Illust

Act 2: In the latter half of the play, Yoshitsune and Benkei’s boat has reached the sea and is encountered by a terrible storm.  Then, on the tidal waves of the ocean, Yoshitsune and Benkei see ghosts of the Taira clan warriors that were killed in the recent war.  In particular, General Tomomori Taira’s vengeful ghost appears out of the waves and fiercely attacks Yoshitsune with his long-handled pole sword.  General Taira is determined to kill Yoshitsune at sea, just as Yoshitsune had demolished the Taira clan fleet in the sea battle at Dan-no-Ura.  While Yoshitsune tries to fight the ghost with his sword, Benkei starts praying and rubbing his Buddhist rosary beads.  Calmed by Benkei’s prayers, General Taira’s ghost eventually withdraws into the sea at dawn.

Synopsis in the-noh.com

Running Time: 65 minutes

My Comments

In the first half of Benkei in the Boat, the Shite (lead actor) plays Lady Shizuka.  Shite for this program was a tall male actor, taller even than Benkei the bodyguard.  Regardless, when Shite came out donning a beautiful kimono and a facial mask with a woman’s face engraved on it, together with his elegant demeanor and movements, he was actually convincing as the frail mistress.  He obviously had a male voice, but when he sang Shizuka’s sorrows, he sounded surprisingly feminine.  His prayer dance movements were subdued and graceful.  Even more surprisingly, when he placed his hand over his eyes and slightly tilted his head, which is a typical Noh gesture to imply that the person is crying, I was overcome with the outpouring of Shizuka’s deep sorrows.  Perhaps because all of his other movements had been minimal, the seemingly subdued hand gesture struck me as a very powerful expression of Shizuka’s tearful separation from her lover.

In the latter half of this play, the same Shite actor plays the ghost of General Tomomori

(C) Kyoran /
Nohgaku Illust

Taira, wearing an evil ghost mask and a flashy warrior costume, flinging around his long-handled pole sword.  He was a tall and scary ghost.  The sword fight was obviously an entertaining climax, but what scared the crap out of me was when the ghost initially entered the stage (or more precisely, when he entered the bridge that connects to the stage, as seen in the left half of the photo).  He appeared out of the curtain, glared at Yoshitsune and Benkei (who were sitting on the boat at the opposite end of the stage), and then suddenly started darting across the bridge towards the boat, in a smooth sliding motion as if he was on a snowboard.  This is apparently a Noh technique in which the actor walks or runs without bobbing his body.  The Shite actor's movement was so smooth, that as he moved fast and furious across the bridge, he really looked like a ghost, and it was sooooooo creepy!!

All the actors had amazing vocal skills.  This venue was by no means a small theater, housing over 600 seats, but surprisingly everyone’s voices were very clear and expressive.  There was no microphone, and none of the actors were yelling.  I would suspect that their vocal training must resemble that of an opera singer.  Maybe they also design the stage in such a way that it helps enhance the acoustics?  Also, the chorus consisted of about eight singers (each of whom are themselves professional Shite’s), and their chants were very soothing to my ears, somewhat resembling the Buddhist monks chanting.  I really enjoyed listening to the chorus.



Why I Lucked Out

Know Noh Program booklet

I picked this program simply because I like Benkei, a popular historical figure, but it also turned out that the Know Noh Program is aimed for beginner audience, so that was a nice surprise.  They handed out a booklet filled with information and historical backdrop on today’s plays, loaded with descriptive pictures of the characters and their costumes, plot-by-plot storyline, maps, historical timeline, etc.  This booklet was very helpful.  (I hope they make an English version too!)

Venue

National Noh Theatre
Personal screens display subtitles in Japanese and English

Every seat came with a small personal monitor installed on the back of the seat in front.  This monitor displayed the subtitles in three channels: original transcript, English, and modern Japanese.  I tried all of them, and noticed the English channel had very good English.  (They used tax money to build this thing, so they’d better use a good translator!)  The subtitles really helped me follow the story with ease, so that I could instead focus my attention on the vibe and ambiance of the production.  Many other Noh theaters are not equipped with the personal monitor system, so I would highly recommend the National Noh Theatre as the venue of choice for first-timers.


Last Impression

Attending this Know Noh program was an eye-opening experience for me.  I was surprised to see myself truly enjoying the entertainment, as well as being wholeheartedly moved by the profound expressions of human emotions.  I am excited about “discovering” this great form of theater and cannot wait to go see more!

Why Yes to Noh?

Like any average Japanese person, I had never bothered to go to see Noh, assuming it was exclusive to the elderly and the esoteric.  Noh is highly respected and is registered world heritage, but it’s difficult to understand and outright dull.  Right?  Some foreign scholar apparently once called it the most boring form of art in the world.  I mean, the actors hardly move on stage, speak some archaic Japanese that no one understands, and what is the deal with those creepy looking masks? 

So, when I finally decided to go see a Noh play for the first time, I easily expected it to turn into nap time. 

Instead, I walked out of the theater with unforgettable depth of emotions that captivated my heart and mind for days to come.  It was an amazing experience.  What a shame, to have missed out on this wonderful form of entertainment until now!  And why did I always assume Noh was difficult?  It was not --- The story was easy to follow, and the subtitles (available in Japanese and English) really helped.

I think watching a Noh play is a bit like looking at an impressionistic painting.  If I stood in front of a masterpiece for ten minutes, for instance, I would probably walk away with some kind of feeling or vibe that was conveyed through the painting.  That's what Noh felt like for me.  Moreover, feelings typically conveyed through Noh plays are basic human emotions such as love, hatred, and loss, so they were quite easy to related to, despite the ancient drama setting or the archaic language.

I started this journal to keep track of my Noh experience for my own record, and to share my reviews with anyone who might be interested.  As I learn more about Noh appreciation, I will hopefully become a more cultured reviewer and able to provide some interesting insights.  Enjoy.

Best,
Harley