Tag Archives: performance

30th Matsuyama Shimin Noh 2014 – Midare

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This year the Matsuyama Shimin Noh celebrates its 30th anniversary! On November 3rd 2014 Udaka Tatsushige, Michishige’s elder son, will perform the Noh Midare, a special variation (kogaki) of the Noh Shōjō. Udaka Norishige, his younger brother, will perform the maibayashi (chant and dance excerpt with instrumental dance) from the Noh Takasago.

From 10:00 to 14:30 students of Udaka Michishige will perform dance and chant excerpts. INI members will also participate with the following shimai: Rebecca Teele Ogamo (小鴨梨辺華): Ochiba, Diego Pellecchia (高谷大悟): Kantan, Elaine Czech: Ukon. The performance of Takasago and Midare will begin at 15:00.

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30th Matsuyama Shimin-Noh performance

3 November 2014 Matsuyama (Ehime prefecture) Dogo Yamatoya Nohgakudo 10:00 – 17:00

Part I (10:00 – 14:30)
Student recital of chant and dance – free of charge

Part II (15:00 – 17:00)
Maibayashi: Takasago. Shite: Udaka Norishige
Noh:  Midare. Shite: Udaka Tatsushige

Tickets: General Admission ¥5,500   Advance Sale: ¥5,000
Student Admission ¥1,500

For questions and reservations contact us.

KYOTO INI Main Offices, Training Center 111 Satta-cho, Kami-takano, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-0047 Fax: +81 (075) 701-1058 Email: ini.kyoto (at) gmail.com

Midare (synopsis by Rebecca Teele Ogamo)

A young man named Kofu living at the foot of Mt. Kanekin in China is a virtuous and dutiful son and as a reward for these traits he is granted a dream oracle in which he is advised to open a wine shop near the Yangtze River. He does so and becomes very prosperous. One day a stranger comes to the shop. No matter how much he drinks his complexion never changes and he never seems to become drunk. When Kofu asks his name he says he is Shojo and that he lives in the sea. Shojo invites Kofu to meet him at the Bay of Jinyo on the western part of the Yangtze River.

The Noh begins with Kofu’s narration of these events. He explains that he is on his way to meet Shojo at that moment. He admires the moon as he waits at the appointed place and anticipates the pleasure of drinking wine with his friend. Shojo enters and the chorus describes wine as a medicine or elixir with the power to keep those who drink it from aging. Shojo offers to dance in celebration of their friendship. With the sound of the booming of the waves as a drum and the wind through the waves as a flute to accompany him, he dances: now on the beach, now in the surf along the Bay. His dance ends, but before he leaves he praises Kofu for his obedient heart and as a gift he presents him with a jar of wine which will never run dry. He dips the wine and drinks, then with faltering steps sinks down to rest. When Kofu himself awakens from his drunken slumber he finds that the Shojo has disappeared, but the jar of wine remains, a spring of wine that will be inexhaustible for generations to come.

Midare features the midare-ashi, a particularly unusual and challenging dance sequence, is performed instead of the usual chu-no-mai medium tempo dance.

Though the original play Shōjō was a typical two part Noh, over the years it was abbreviated to its present one-scene form. The play Taihei–Shōjō in the Kanze school repertory is considered to be another early rendition of the story and is a Noh in two parts.

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The 15th Udaka Seiran Noh: Hagoromo, Ataka

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This year the annual Udaka Seiran Noh performance will feature the Noh Ataka with the very special kogaki (performance variations) ennen takinagashi, kai-tsuke kai-date. Udaka Michishige will take the leading shite role, while his sons Tatsushige and Norishige will take the tsure supporting roles as disguised yamabushi priests. Michishige’s eldest son Tatsushige will also perform his first Noh with a kogaki: Hagoromo (banshiki variation).

Minamoto no Yoshitsune, one of Japan’s tragic heros, is known as a talented and charismatic general, and as the lover of shirabyoshi dancer Shizuka Gozen. The relatiohship between Yoshitsune and his retainer, the warrior-monk Musashibo Benkei, is particularly celebrated in the Noh plays Hashi-Benkei, Funa-Benkei, and Ataka. In all of these Noh the role of Yoshitsune is played by a ko-kata, or child actor. In Ataka the role of Musashibo Benkei is taken by the shite, or main player.

In Ataka, Yoshitsune is trying to escape the unjustified wrath of his elder brother Yoritomo by fleeing to the south with a group of his men who are in the guise of yamabushi, mountain aescetics, led by Benkei. Officials at barrier checkpoints along the way have been warned to be on the lookout for the fugitives. Through the wit and audacity of Benkei they are able to pass at the Ataka Barrier. The high drama of intrigue as the group makes its escape, the loyalty of Benkei which gives him the strength to protect his master at a moment of extreme danger, the sympathy shown by the warden, Togashi, join to make this one of the most dramatic plays of the Noh repertory. The extemporaneous ‘reading’ of the scroll calling for donations, or Kanjincho, is a highlight of the play and the title of the Kabuki variation of this story.

(Rebecca Teele Ogamo)

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Download the full program (Japanese) Front Back

The 15th Udaka Seiran Noh

Noh: Hagoromo (banshiki). Shite: UDAKA Tatsushige

Kyogen: Jisenseki  Shite: SHIGEYAMA Shime, Ado: SHIGEYAMA Motohiko
– Intermission –

Noh: Ataka (ennen takinagashi, kai-tsuke kai-date)
Shite: Udaka Michishige

Place: The Kongo Noh Theatre, Nakadachiuri-agaru, Karasuma-dori, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto. 602-0912. Subyway Karasuma-Imadegawa (K06), South Exit (n.6), walk South 300m.

Time: Sunday, 14th September 2014 13:30-17:00 p.m. (doors open at 13:00)

Tickets: center reserved seats 8,000 yen, side reserved seats 6,000 yen, general admission mid-center seats 5,000 yen, student general admission mid-center seats 3,000 yen

Synopses of the plays will be available at the theater in English, French, and Italian.

For information and tickets reservation please use the form below, or contact the Udaka-kai Office c/o Rebecca Teele Ogamo:

TEL: +81 090 9615 0886
FAX :+81 075 722 3668
Email: ogamo-tr@mbox.kyoto-inet.or.jp

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Thoughts on the Kei’un-kai Memorial Performance 2014

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The program board outside the theatre

On August 17th 2014 The Kei’un-kai Memorial Performance, including INI members, took place at the Kongo Noh Theatre in Kyoto. It was a long day, with shimai, rengin, maibayashi and full Noh plays performed  from dawn to dusk.  This year’s performance took place at the end of the o-bon period in Japan, during which people remember and honour the dead. It was an occasion for us performers and for the audience to express gratitude to those who are not with us anymore.

For this purpose, Udaka Michishige has chosen a poem by Henjo (816-890), quoted in the Noh Sumizome-zakura, ‘The Ink-dyed Cherry Tree’. “Everyone is wearing colourful robes, while my mossy sleeves (a monk’s robes) are yet to dry.” Henjo became a priest after the death of Emperor Nimmyo, and the poem expresses the poet’s grief and his reluctance to return to colourful robes after the official time of mourning, though others around him have done so. Udaka Michishige created a calligraphy with the first line of the poem, which you see on the hanging scroll in the picture below.

Rebecca Teele Ogamo. Calligraphy: Udaka Michishige. Kakejiku hanging scroll: Kim Heakyoung.

 The INI Senior Director, Rebecca Teele Ogamo, would like to share the following thought about the performance: ‘It was very special to remember both those we once performed with us as Keiun-kai or INI members and those who have supported us in the past and I think we all felt their warm presence cheering us on. And perhaps they were in “flowery robes” as they watched with nostalgia our struggle with the nerves and doubts that sometimes clouded our vision’.

The INI would like to thank all those who have participated to this performance, and whose help and support motivates us to continue our study and research of Noh.

Noh: Atsumori. Shite: Nagao Atsushi
Noh: Atsumori. Shite: Nagao Atsushi
Noh: Funa Benkei - Shiranami no den. Shite: Higaki Toshifumi
Noh: Funa Benkei – Shiranami no den. Shite: Higaki Toshifumi
Maibayashi: Yamamba. Shite: Tanbara Michiko
Maibayashi: Yamamba. Shite: Tanbara Michiko
Shimai: Hanagatami. Shite: Yoshioka Miki
Shimai: Hanagatami. Shite: Yoshioka Miki
Maibayashi: Tsurukame. Shite: Monique Arnaud
Maibayashi: Tsurukame. Shite: Monique Arnaud
Maibayashi: Toru. Shite: Diego Pellecchia
Maibayashi: Toru. Shite: Diego Pellecchia
Elaine Czech
Elaine Czech

Kei’un-kai Memorial Performance 17 August 2014

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On 17 August 2014 from 9:30am the Kei’un-kai (the group Udaka Michishige’s students, incuding the International Noh Institute) will hold a Memorial Performance at the Kongō Noh Theatre in Kyoto. The performance will begin with two bangai shimai or special feature dance excerpts by masters Taneda Michikazu (Eguchi) and Udaka Michishige (Fujitō), followed by a recitation of an excerpt from the Noh Seigan-ji by Udaka Michishige’s sons, Tatsushige and Norishige. Student performances will begin at 9:50 and will feature a number of shimai, maibayashi and two full Noh plays (from 13:00 Atsumori, Shite: Nagao Atsushi; from 17:00 Funa Benkei, Shite: Higaki Takafumi).

ADMISSION FREE: feel free to come and go quietly. An English synopsis of the program will be available. Download here the full program (Japanese only).

Members of the International Noh Institute will perform the following dances:

Elaine Czech (イレーイン・チェック) shimai: Kochō                          (11:00 group)

Monique Arnaud (モニック・アルノー) maibayashi: Tsurukame      (12:00 group)

Diego Pellecchia (高谷大悟) maibayashi: Tōru                                     (12:00 group)

Rebecca Teele Ogamo (小鴨梨辺華) shimai: Kashiwazaki                  (16:40 group)

Tsuizen Taikai 2014

Kongo Fukyu Noh performance – ‘Aoi-no-ue’ 6 July 2014

The 12th Kongō-ryū Fukyū Noh performance will take place on 6 July 2014 at the Kongo Noh Theatre in Kyoto. This year the Iemoto (grand-master) of the Kongō School, Kongō Hisanori, and his son, Kongō Tatsunori, will share the shite main roles in Aoi-no-ue, a ‘classic’ play that draws from episodes of the Genji Monogatari. In this Noh the spirit of Rokujō no Miyasudokoro, transfigured by jealousy after being rejected by Prince Genji, attacks the woman that has replaced her, Lady Aoi. The Kongō Fukyū Noh is a special event that seeks to disseminate the culture of Noh to the public: non-Japanese students can apply to get a FREE TICKET! 50 free tickets are available, and the deadline is June 23rd. Contact us for information on how to apply.

The 12th Kongō-ryū Fukyū Noh performance

Opening address: Udaka Michishige

Introduction: Wada Akemi

Noh: Aoinoue (mumyō no inori)

Shite: Kongō Hisanori, Kongō Tatsunori; Tsure: Udaka Tatsushige. Waki: Hara Masaru; Wakitsure: Oka Takashi Ai-kyogen: Shigeyama Motohiko. Flute: Morita Yasuyoshi; Shoulder drum: Hayashi Kichibei; Hip drum: Ishii Yasuhiko; Taiko: Maekawa Mitsunori.

Time: 6 July 2014 from 17:00 (doors open at 16:30)

Place: Kongo Noh Theatre, Kyoto. (see map below) Address: Nakadachiuri-agaru, Karasuma-dori, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto. 602-0912 Tel: (075)441-7222 Fax（075）451-1008 Travel directions: Subway Karasuma-Imadegawa (K06), South Exit (n.6), walk South 300m.

Tickets: pre-sale 2,500yen; at the door: 3,000yen.

Fukyu 2014