Suigian (水戯庵), a sushi restaurant featuring a noh stage, is set to open in Nihonbashi (Tokyo) on March 20, 2018. The restaurant will offer daily performances of Noh and Kyogen. I have mixed feelings about it. Yes offering this kind of performance is not philologically incorrect as people did eat drink and even smoke inside noh theatres in the past. Yes, we need to bring more people closer to noh so we should embrace ways to popularize it. But would you like to watch noh with the noise of people drinking cheering chewing etc? With the smell of food and alcoholic burps in the air? Would performers like it? The restaurant looks posh enough and is endorsed by performers (you can see famous actors and musicians featuring the photos on the website) still… I wonder what plays they will perform… in the case of Noh, I can think of very few that I would enjoy watching while having something in my stomach… I wonder what you guys think!
The Noh Diaries 
I think it could be a good idea, instead of the always-the-same jazz quartet in a restaurant. I think that audience will be aware of what it’ll be going on in there too. And also the performers. It’ll lose a bit in solemnity and sacredness, though. By the way, I can’t wait to try it!
In times like this, it may be worth trying new ways, so I am not ‘against’ this. Probably performances will be put on in special moments when food is not served anyway. Let us know how you like it when you go!
I’ve no issue with this development.
Art needs room to morph and real art needs to be mature enough to be able to answer the questions a project such as this one will ask of it.
If it cannot answer the questions then that will say a lot about Noh.
Sure, it is worth trying