Tag Archives: performance

Dōjōji memorial performance at the Kongō Nōgakudō (11 December 2022)

Dōjōji holds a special place in all traditional Japanese performing arts. The story of the dedication ceremony for a temple bell which leads to the revelation of its horrific history is one that is met by audiences with anticipation. The original bell, we learn, was destroyed many years before when it was used as a hiding place by a monk fearing for his life. The woman who had been led to believe that the monk would one day take her for his wife learns that this is not true. Her devastation at this betrayal of her love for the monk leads to her transformation into a serpent by her single-minded passion to find him as she follows him to the temple of Dōjōji where he has taken refuge. Finding his hiding place within the bell, she coils her serpent form around it, her passion burning him to a crisp. Priests preparing for the dedication ceremony are warned not to allow any women the temple precincts until after the ceremony is over, but they are no match for the spirit of the woman who come to avenge herself again on the bell, persuading them that as an entertainer is beyond gender. They even find an eboshi, the lacquered hat worn by shirabyoshi dancers, for her so she can perform in celebration of the raising of the bell.

The nō version of Dōjōji emphasizes the unique relationship between the shite and the musicians, especially the hip and shoulder drums, to express intense primal emotions of resentment and of desire. Each of the two drums has a particular instance when they become one with the actor in his role of the woman seeking her revenge, but finally being driven away by the earnest prayers of the temple monks.

The first performance by a nō actor is considered to be especially important, a coming of age in his mastery of his skills in all aspects of his art, from chant and dance, to costuming as he accomplishes the change into serpent form within the bell and then battles the monks who seek to vanquish the spirit.

Memorial

On Sunday, December 11th, Udaka Norishige, will be performing Dōjōji at the Kongō Nōgakudō as the main feature of a memorial performance observing the sankaiki, or third anniversary of the death of his father, Udaka Michishige, who passed away on March 28, 2020. The traditional way of counting age in this case is based on the concept of cycles, with the first cycle considered to be accomplished at death, the first anniversary a year later, and the third at the end of the second year anticipating the start of the third year after death. Just as asymmetry is preferred over symmetry, odd numbers are considered preferable to even ones and to be more auspicious.

Mask exhibition

This is a performance dedicated to the memory of Udaka Michishige well-known as a performer, mask carver, teacher, and writer of and about nō and nō masks and also an affirmation of the resolve of his three children, mask carver Keiko, and actors Tatsushige and Norishige to continue on the path their father introduced them to and which they now are following each in their own way and also always supporting each other.

Photography exhibition

To this end they are also curating a display of performance photographs of their father, including photos of the three plays he authored and performed in: Shiki: Hototogisu, Genshigumo: Inori, a Prayer for Peace, and Ryōma as well as some of his nō masks. There will be a thirty-minute intermission between the performance by Udaka Tatsushige of the maibayashi of Tenko, the main dance section of a play in which the spirit of a young boy dances in joyful gratitude for religious services offered on his behalf after his death and Dōjōj allowing for more time to see the photos and masks.

This is a very special performance on many levels, and we look forward to seeing you there

December 11th 2022 from 14:00 (doors open at 13:00) at the Kongō Nōgakudō.

Tickets prices are:

¥6,000 general admission

¥8,000 A seats (facing the chorus or far right of stage front)

¥11,000 S (Stage front, toward the back and right of stage front)

¥13,000 SS (Stage front, closer to the stage)

To reserve a ticket, contact us

Udaka Seiran Noh 2018 – Hanjo and Kuzu

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The 2018 Udaka Seiran Noh performance will take place on Sunday 9th September at the Kongō Noh Theatre, in Kyoto. This year’s event features two plays: Hanjo (starring Udaka Norishige) and Kuzu, performed in the hakutō variant (starring Udaka Michishige).

Hanjo（班女）tells the story of Hanago, a female entertainer working at an inn in Nogami, who falls in love with Fukakusa no Shōshō, a gentleman from Kyoto. The two exchange fans before he departs. Heartbroken, Hanago cannot but think of her lover, and is expelled from the inn. She then reaches Kyoto, where she entertains people at Tadasu-no-mori, near Shimogamo Shrine. She is famous for her songs and dances about Hanjo, a Chinese courtesan who wrote verses about her lost love. In the meantime, Fukakusa-no-shōshō has been looking for Hanago. Having heard that she performs at Tadasu-no-mori, he visits there. The two recognize the fans they once exchanged and are happily reunited.

Kuzu（国栖）offers an entirely different kind of atmosphere. Fearing for his life after being attacked by a rival, Emperor Tenmu (interpreted by a child actor) has escaped to the Yoshino mountains along with his retainers. There he meets an elderly couple that offers him shelter and food. The old man first serves a local fish to the Emperor, who only eats half of it. He then releases the other half in the river, and the fish miraculously comes back to life. This is interpreted as a sign that the Emperor will be able to return to the Capital safely. Soon after this, soldiers sent by Tenmu’s rival reach the elderly couple’s house, but the old man manages to hide the Emperor under a boat. Later the Buddhist guardian god Zao Gongen and a Celestial Maiden appear and dance in celebration of the Emperor.

The 19th Udaka Seiran Noh no Kai 2018

Place: Kongō Noh Theatre, Kyoto.

Date: 9 September 2018 (Sun)

Time: Doors open at 12:30 the performance starts at 13:00 and is expected to finish at around 17:00.

Program:

Greetings and introduction: Udaka Tatsushige
Noh: Hanjo (Shite: Udaka Norishige)
Kyōgen: Niku jūhachi
Noh: Kuzu – hakutō (Shite: Udaka Michishige)

Tickets:

Front seats・8,000円 Side seats・6,000円 Corner seats・5,000円 Students・3,000円

For tickets or other inquiries contact us.

Udaka Michishige to perform noh ‘Kagekiyo’ in Tokyo 24-08-2018

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Kagekiyo

performed by

Udaka Michishige

The story:

A young woman called Hitomaru leaves her home in Kamegae near Kamakura to go with an Attendant in search of her father, the Heike warrior Taira-no-Kagekiyo, also known as Akushichibyoe, the ‘Hot-tempered’. It is rumored that he lives in exile in Hyuga, destitute and blind after putting out his own eyes rather than see his clan in defeat. Though she has not seen him since childhood, she hopes to meet him and hear of his life. Hitomaru and her Attendant find a blind man in a poor thatched hut who is, in fact, Kagekiyo, but he pretends not to know who they seek, both out of shame for his present condition and fearing that his daughter will be disgraced. In response to their inquiries, a Villager leads them again to Kagekiyo who at last recognizes his daughter. At the urging of the Villager, Kagekiyo tells his daughter of his role in the Battle of Yashima where he hoped to find and kill the Genji general Minamoto no Yoshitsune, but unable to do so, he attacked Minoya Juro a valiant warrior from Musashi Province, instead. They grappled, but Minoya was able to get away when the neck-piece of his armor broke. His tale finished, Kagekiyo begs Hitomaru to remember him in her prayers and sends her on her way home.

The Tale of the Heike which describes the rise and fall of the Heike clan and its rival, the Minamoto clan (or Taira and Genji clans, depending on the reading of the kanji characters) at the end of the Heian period during the late 12 century, provides material for many Noh plays.

Kagekiyo is unusual in that a child searches for a parent, while in most 4th-category Noh it is a mother who searches for a missing child. The passion and fiery temper of Kagekiyo are undimmed even now that he has fallen in the world, and are clear in his continuing struggle with his feelings as he first rejects, then accepts, his daughter and tells her of his days of glory long ago. There is no historical basis for his blindness or exile, as he was kept a prisoner in Kamakura after surrendering following the failure of an attempt to assassinate the Genji leader Yoritomo.

The shōmon-no-ashirai vartation adds further color to the story of Kagekiyo. The flute accompaniment, or ashirai, before the sashi chant section considered to be of special difficulty, expresses the loneliness and pathos of Kagekiyo’s life.

(Rebecca Ogamo Teele)

Place: Yarai Noh Theatre (Tokyo)

Time: 24 August 2018 (Friday) 18:30-20:00

Tickets: 7,000¥ (advanced sale) 8,000¥ (at the door) 3,000¥ (students)

For tickets or other enquiries: udakakai@yg7.so-net.ne.jp

On the performance of Sagi at the Seiran Noh 2016

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We publish here some thoughts on Udaka Michishige’s performance of Sagi (The Heron), by Rebecca Teele Ogamo.

“The Seiran Noh performance of Sagi on September 11th, 2016 celebrating Udaka Michishige’s 70^th birthday was one of the plays featured in the Kansai area Noh reviews in the Nohgaku Times. As the critic points out, the story is a demonstration of how a bird, without spirit or mind, shows its gratitude towards the emperor and has no real emotional expression. This being the case, the success or failure of a performance rests on the actor’s skills, refined over time, to portray the sense of purity and innocence of the heron through making the face a vehicle of abstract expression, as a mask is not used, but is performed hitamen, or with the face as a mask, or instead of a mask. The critic was especially impressed by the way that Michishige was able to do this, keeping his face completely devoid of expression. His portrayal of the utter stillness of the bird when it stopped, as though perching without moving had a majestic grace, and the seemingly effortless performance of the unique and extremely difficult dance of the heron, meticulously and without any wasted movement, seemed to reveal to the audience the actual heron on the shore of the pond.

Udaka Michishige as ‘the heron’ in Sagi. Udaka Seiran Noh. Kongō Nōgakudō, 11 September 2016. (Photo: Oka Tetsuya)

I have seen Udaka-sensei in other hitamen roles, but always as in the role of a living person, as in Hachinoki or Mochizuki, or of a ghost manifesting as a living person as in the first half of Atsumori. This was the first time to see him in the role of a non-human creature, relying on completely on focused movement, rather than a mask, to portray the essence of the heron. I was startled when I realized that I was no longer aware of an actor or his face, but felt I was watching a heron as it danced. The critic seemed to confirm this experience. “I wonder what kind of Sagi I will be?” Michishige mused one day after a mask carving class. I think it was the natural result of years of dedicated uncompromising practice.

Whatever our path, challenges are limitless, and the base and foundation on which we pursue them must always be a constant refining of basic skills.

For INI, too, this means a continuing renewal of our commitment to sharing and exploring the traditions of Noh. We grow and gain energy through shared experiences of how we test our limits. Please let us know about your path and progress, and know we support you in your challenges.”

Rebecca Teele Ogamo

michishige-sagi-nogaku-times

Photos from the 2016 Kei’un-kai INI Taikai Gala Recital

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Fabio Massimo Fioravanti, who has already collaborated with Udaka Michishige on various projects, including the book La Via del Noh – The way of Noh captured these beautiful moment from our last Taikai Gala Recital at the Kongo Noh Theatre on August 21st.

We would like to congratulate all participants – in particular Monica Alcantar, Lisa Swinbanks and Regina Toon, our INI Summer Program graduates! Well done! See you again soon!

Regina Toon – Shōjō

Diego Pellecchia – Kurama Tengu

Kurotake Sadato – Sesshōseki nyotai

Udaka Michishige – Kumasaka

Rebecca Ogamo Teele et al – Hanjo

Hirasawa Yumiko – Hagoromo

Udaka Tatsushige – Tanikō

Udaka Norishige – Ama

Itō Yūki – Tomoe

Tozawa Satomi – Tsunemasa kuse

Yamauchi Kotone – Kokaji kiri

Yamauchi Yūha – Atsumori kuse

Monica Alcantar – Shōjō

Lisa Swinbanks – Yuya kuse

INI Summer Intensive Program 2016

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The INI – International Noh Institute is now accepting applications for its 2016 Summer Intensive Program. Participants will join INI members for a 2-week intensive training period, during which they will study Noh chant and dance at the INI headquarters in Kyoto with master-actor of the Kongō school, Udaka Michishige. During their stay, participants will be able to learn various aspects of noh, including masks and costumes.

Lessons follow the traditional methods of the Kongō school, providing participants with the unique chance of frequenting the okeikoba, private training space of a noh master, for an immersive experience.

Participants are also welcome to join the August 21st Kei’unkai-INI Gala Recital, along with Udaka Michishige’s international and Japanese students, on the prestigious stage of the Kongō Noh Theatre, in Kyoto.

INI SUMMER INTENSIVE PROGRAM 2016

Requirements: Anyone is welcome to join – no previous knowledge of Noh is required. Lessons are delivered in English and/or Japanese.

Capacity: 5 participants

Place: INI Headquarters, Kyoto

Period: August 1 – 14 2016

Fees (in Japanese yen)

Regular	60,000
Student	40,000
Recital at the Kongo Noh theatre (optional)	20,000

Participants are required to purchase separately the necessary personal items for noh practice: tabi white split-toe socks (around 700yen) and a Kongō-style Noh dance fan (5000yen).
Participants are required to arrange for their accommodation.

How to apply: send us an email at ini.kyoto[at]gmail.com Please attach your C.V. and a brief statement of interest.

Read impressions of the INI summer training from participants Sadia Gordon and Dorothee Neff.

Images from past events

Udaka Michishige and Sadia Gordon

Trip to the Kyoto National Museum

Sadia Gordon, Udaka Michishige and Dorothee Neff

Udaka Tatsushige teaching Theater Mitu members

Udaka Michishige, Diego Pellecchia and workshop participants

Udaka Tatshushige shows the Shojo mask

Mask workshop

Shimai: Ochiba. Shite: Ogamo Rebecca

Maibayashi: Tsurukame. Shite: Monique Arnaud

Elaine Czech

The Second Tatsushige no Kai: Shoki – 20 March 2016

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Following last year’s successful performance of the virtuoso Noh Mochizuki, on March 20th 2016 Udaka Tatsushige is going to stage his second independent Noh event. This year he is going to perform the rare play Shōki. Shōki (in Chinese Zhong Kui), a character known in China and in Japan, is characterised by a massive beard, hence the theme of this event, ‘beards’.

The event is going to feature a very special guest: poet Tanikawa Shuntarō, who will read poems from his repertoire, including Hige (‘Beards’). Other performances in the program are the solo chant with drum accompaniment from the noh Sanemori (Udaka Michishige and Kawamura Sōichirō) and the Kyogen Akutaro (Shigeyama Yoshinobu), all of which are stories about bearded characters.

For more information about the program and to reserve a seat please visit Tatsushige’s site (in English).

Shōki (also romanized as Syouki) is a legendary character who lived in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). Having failed the legendarily difficult admission exam to become a civil servant, he committed suicide. When Emperor Genso was informed of these facts, he dressed Shōki’s dead body in green court garb, bestowing official rank, and provided for a generous burial service. Before long the spirit of Shōki, now in the underworld, regretted having killed himself, and swore to protect the country. He then became a household deity with a fierce aspect, driving away evil spirits and curing illness. In Japan Shōki can be still seen drawn on paper amulets against smallpox, as a doll given to children when they turn five, or as a guardian figure on the roofs of old houses.

‘Shoki, the demon queller’ by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

Udaka 2015 Independence Day, and INI Gala Recital 2016

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In the early hours of September 13th 2015 Udaka Michishige continued with putting the finishing touches on the Deigan mask he would use later that day in his performance of Teika, the center piece of the 16th Seirannoh-no-kai at the Kongo Noh Theatre: adding more color, polishing, pausing to check the effect once again. This was the latest effort in the search for the essence of the expression of the Deigan mask, in this case for the essence that would most effectively portrayal his interpretation of the spirit of Princess Shokushi Naishinno. As always the process was continuing until the last possible moment.

His thoughts at this time as he kept on with this search included welcoming the 45th observance of his independence as a Noh actor and also his wishes for INI members. “Independence” can mean embarking on a lonely road and uncompromising battle of seeking the essence of your art. Michishige continues to be his own harshest critic and taskmaster, but he also treasures and finds strength in fellow travellers on the path. He hopes that you, too, as his fellow travellers are keeping to your path of seeking the highest essence in your endeavours.

Michishige also looks forward to sharing in training and performing Noh with as many of you as possible in the Gala Noh Recital at the Kongo Noh Theatre on August 21, 2016. More details will be coming soon, but please put the date down on your calendar and get in touch with us with any questions. As always at INI will do what we can to facilitate your participation.

In closing, the performance of Teika was very well received. Here are a few photos from the performance though they are hardly a substitute for the experience of the performance itself.

Rebecca Teele Ogamo

Kongo Monthly Noh 26 April 2015 – ‘Oshio’

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On Sunday 26 April 2015 Udaka Michishige will perform the Noh Oshio, a piece not frequently put on stage by the Kongo School. The play is attributed to Konparu Zenchiku, and draws from the Tales of Ise and from the poetry collection Kokinshu. The main character is in fact the celebrated Heian period poet Ariwara no Narihira (825-880), a central character in other Noh plays, such as the third category (women Noh) plays Kakitsubata and Izutsu. However in Oshio Narihira appears as himself – first as an old man, and later in his original garb, as a Heian period courtier.

26 April 2015 (Sun) from 13:30. Noh: Oshio – Udaka Michishige. Kongo Noh Theatre. Kyoto.

Ariwara no Narihira in a painting by Kano Tanyu

Oshio synopsis by Rebecca Teele

A Man goes with his Companions to Mt. Oshio having heard that the cherry blossoms are in full bloom there. Among the many flower viewers is an Old Man carrying a branch of blossoms. The Men speak with him and are impressed by his elegant expression of appreciation for the blossoms. He quotes poems by Ariwara no Narihira (825-880) nobleman and courtier, in particular one relating to the visit to the area by the Empress of the Second Ward, Fujiwara no Koshi, who was secretly his lover for a time. The poem reads: Ohara ya, Oshio no yama mo, kyo koso wa, kamiyo no koto mo, Omoiizurame and is translated by Helen McCullough in Tales of Ise as: “On this auspicious day, the divinity of Mt. Oshio at Ohara, will surely remember, what happened long ago, in the Age of the Gods.” The Old Man is, in fact, the spirit of the ‘Man of Old’, the poet Ariwara no Narihira in a transformed state. Later he appears in his true form in a blossom decorated ox cart and dances, remembering incidents of the past and praising the beauty of the cherry blossoms.

For more information on the performance, or to reserve a ticket contact the INI.

Noh Photography #2 Stéphane Barbery

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Here is the second of a series of posts on photographers who have worked with the INI and with Udaka Michishige. (See the first post of the series, featuring Irwin Wong). This time we have asked Stéphane Barbery to contribute to our blog with his thoughts on photographing Noh. Stéphane is a French writer and photographer living in Kyoto, where he studies traditional arts since 2008. He is currently working on a ten-year book project on Japanese beauty. Stéphane is a regular Noh theatregoer, and has taken pictures of a great number of Noh performances, as well as other performing arts. His personal take on Noh is apparent in the stunning pictures that capture the intensity of performance moments. We have met Stéphane on a number of occasions in Kyoto, and have always been impressed by his passion for Noh and determination to disseminate it internationally. Find out about Stéphane’s many activities on his blog and his Flickr page.

I consider Noh as an atheist religious experience. It is not “just an(other) exotic entertainment”. Noh is the most noble and intense form of collective trance that I know. It purifies the heart and restores faith in the kindhearted nature of human beings. The photographer must thus take all the necessary steps to preserve the masters and the sense of trance in the audience. This means :

1) Being invisible.

a) Avoid strobes or added lightings.

b) Staying usually in the back of the room which implies using a long zoom. I’ve discovered that the equivalent of a full frame 600mm is necessary in order to take pictures that are framed enough so that the non-acting people on stage (specially the musicians and the koken stage assistants) do not show on the background of a picture creating a visual noise that dilutes the emotion of a movement that usually relies on a detail in a fraction of a second. I also want to avoid “static” pictures that, from my point of view, lose all the specific dynamic energy of Noh. It means that I take a lot of pictures and carefully select the most intense ones during the processing phase.

2) Being absolutely silent. Technology (specially after Panasonic Gx7) allows to take pictures in total “silent mode” with no shutter or lens motor sounds.

B) Photographers should never aim for verisimilitude but should try to share the peak of the emotions they felt. During the development of pictures (nowadays, with digital photography, on a computer using Adobe Lightroom), they should feel totally free to modify every parameter of the shot (colour, contrast, lighting, frame, etc.) in order to convey the intensity of what they saw. If the colours of his file, considering the limits imposed by the effort to be ‘invisible’, can be mixed in a noise that does not honor the genius of the colours and patterns displayed on a Noh stage, then it is best to shift to monochrome in order to underline the detail they want to share.

C) The exceptional nature of Noh is not only seen during the short time of the stage but also in the lifetime preparation process of the Noh performers. My dream is to be able to take pictures of all the dimensions of this “behind the scenes” world so that those who cannot get the chance to access it can understand the number of skills required to be a Noh master, but also how intensively those professionals are dedicated to their art. As such they are true sources of inspiration who deserve to be much more honoured than they are nowadays.

Stéphane Barbery