INI Summer Intensive 2023

This is just a quick reminder about the International Noh Institute’s 2023 Summer Intensive Program, scheduled to be held in Kyoto this July. After a long gap due to the pandemic, Japan has reopened its borders, and it is now possible to travel in and out of the country with relative ease. Please consider applying and/on pass on the information to those whom you think may be interested.

Call for participants – INI Kyoto Summer Intensive 2023

The INI – International Noh Institute is now accepting applications for its 2023 Summer Intensive Program

Who can apply?

Anyone interested in studying nō chant and/or dance. There is no age limit, and previous knowledge is not required. The course is taught by English-speaking Japanese instructors.

What will participants learn?

Participants will study nō dance and chant according to the Kongō school tradition, and learn about various aspects of nō performance, including masks and costumes. The training period will culminate with a public recital alongside professional actors on a nō stage located within a gorgeous Kyoto-style traditional townhouse.

How does training work?

Nō classes take place daily, in the morning, or in the early afternoon. Every day you will be coached by one of our instructors, and you will be encouraged to practice independently in preparation for the following class. (A day-to-day calendar will be announced after the selection is complete).

What makes studying with the INI unique?

The intimate environment in which lessons take place, reflecting the traditional nō training style, allows students to interact directly with the teachers. Lessons comprise both group work and one-to-one coaching.

For this 2023 edition of our Summer Intensive, the INI will collaborate with Discover Noh in Kyoto. Participants will be given the opportunity to explore Kyoto with a professional tour guide, discovering the deep connections between nō and the city.

Program highlights

Train intensively in noh dance and chant.
Practice in a small group for an immersive experience.
Perform alongside professional actors.
Watch noh performances on traditional stages.
Visit noh-related historical locations.
Experience living in the ancient capital, Kyoto.

Program details

Training period : July 10-23, 2023
Recital: July 23
Fees: Regular ¥80,000 Student ¥60,000 (includes graduate students)
Capacity: 6 participants

Fees include : Dance/chant lessons, materials, Kongō school nō fan, participation in the final recital, and a certificate of completion. Fees do not include: White tabi (split-toe socks), transportation, accommodation, and any other personal expenses.

Instructors: Udaka Tatsushige, Udaka Norishige (Kongō school actors), Udaka Keiko (nō mask carver)

Coordinator: Diego Pellecchia (Kyoto Sangyō University, Certified Kongō school instructor)

How to apply

Send an email to ini.kyoto[at]gmail.com attaching the following documents:
Your Curriculum Vitae
A brief statement of interest (around 300 words)

Application deadline: May, 22nd 2023. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by May, 29th 2023.

For more information about the program contact us.

Photos from the 2021 Keiunkai Taikai

Here are a few photos from the excerpt from the nō play Kantan that I performed on August 22 2021 at the Kongo Noh Theatre in Kyoto on the occasion of the 2021 Keiunkai Taikai, dedicated to the memory of Udaka Michishige.

Professional nō photographers Uesugi Haruka and Miki Eri took the photos of the performance.

The First Udaka Michishige Memorial performance event / Maibayashi “Kantan”

English and Italian follow Japanese

8月22日（日曜日）故宇髙通成一周忌追善会「景雲会大会」にて舞囃子〈邯鄲〉を金剛流師範として勤めさせていただきます。通成先生は芸術として能を稽古するだけではなく、能を通じて人生を新たな視点から見る方法を教えてくれました。私たちにとってこの日は通成先生にもう一度感謝を伝える大事な機会となります。皆様のご来場を心よりお待ち申し上げます。

I’m happy to announce that, on August 22 (Sun) 2021 I will perform the maibayashi excerpt from the nō play “Kantan” on the occasion of the first Udaka Michishige Memorial Performance event at the Kongō Nō Theatre in Kyoto.

This will be my first performance as “shihan” (licensed instructor) of the Kongō School. Michishige-sensei took care of my shihan license application in 2020, from his hospital bed. Though the illness weakened him, he took care of his students until the very last moment. This day will be an important chance for us to express our gratitude to Michishige-sensei, whose work showed us a way we see nō not only as art, but as a way to see life. I hope you will join us on this special day! The event begins at 11:00 with various dance excerpts. I will perform at around 12:45.

Sono felice di annunciare che, Domenica 22 Agosto 2021 parteciperò alla prima performance in memoria del Maestro Udaka Michishige con un maibayashi estratto dal dramma nō “Kantan” presso il Teatro Nō Kongō, a Kyoto.

Questa sara’ la mia prima performance in qualità di “shihan” (istruttore certificato) della scuola Kongō. Il Maestro Michishige si prese cura della mia domanda di certificazione nell’inverno del 2020, dal suo letto di ospedale. Nonostante la malattia lo avesse indebolito, il Maestro si prese cura dei suoi studenti fino all’ultimo momento. Questo giorno sarà un’opportunità per esprimere nuovamente la nostra gratitudine al Maestro Michishige, il cui lavoro ci ha mostrato un modo di vedere il nō non solo come arte, ma anche come vita.

Gallery

Close-up photographs of INI members’ Noh masks

The International Noh Institute

This year’s Men-no-kai Noh mask carving exhibition took place at the Kyoto Prefectural Center for Arts and Culture 28th-30th November. Among others three INI members, INI Senior Director Rebecca Teele Ogamo (USA), Kim Hea-Kyoung (South Korea), and Elaine Czech (USA) exhibited their latest works.

Czech carved a Ko-omote, one of the most popular Noh masks outside. It is also the first Noh masks that is carved by beginners. Despite its apparent simplicity, the Ko-omote is a very difficult mask to carve, and mask carvers often come back to it later in their mastery. Ko-omote (lit. ‘small face’) is used for main or secondary roles when the character is a young girl or, in some cases, a supernatural being. The face of Ko-omote is inspired by the aesthetic canons of the Heian period (794-1185), regarded as a golden-age of cultural sophistication and refinement. The face is painted in white, eyebrows…

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Present and Future of Noh seminar series

Today I am going to speak at the Fall Seminar series entitled Present and Future of Noh, organized by the Hosei University Noh Research Institute in Kyoto. I am honored to have been invited to talk about the International Noh Institute and Udaka Michishige. Today I will be presenting along with shite actor Kanze Yoshimasa and Kyogen actor Nomura Manzō. I am looking forward to the talk and I will be posting again after the event.

頑張ります！

The New INI Website

It’s finally LIVE! The INI – International Noh Institute has a website of its own, with a blog section, a gallery etc. We literally just got it started, and we look forward to upload lots of information about who we are, what we do, etc. If you are interested in keeping updated don’t forget to subscribe to the blog, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. From now on I will use 外国人と能 The Noh Diaries only to post personal reflections on the various topics I usually treat here. All official announcements about performances, workshops, exhibitions from the International Noh Institute will be posted on the new INI website. I encourage all my readers and subscribers who wish to to continue receiving updates about the INI activities to subscribe to the new website.

Cheers!

Diego

After Kiyotsune

I would like to thank all those who came to see my performance of Kiyotsune on June 29th 2013 at the Kongo Noh Theatre in Kyoto, as well as those who supported from a distance but who could not make it to Japan.

It is hard to describe my feelings now that this pivotal event in my personal life and in the history of the International Noh Institute is over. The night before the performance I was preparing my bag with all the necessary clothing and accessory, including dōgi padded undergarment and eri collars, and felt like packing the night before leaving for a long trip. Or maybe Kiyotsune himself was packing his bag, about to take his leave from my room, and from my teacher’s okeikoba, where we lived together during the year of preparation that preceded the performance. Although in Noh there isn’t the same kind of psychological research on the character that you would have in other performance methods, I have become accustomed to live with Kiyotsune… but now Kiyotsune has left, only to live again through someone else’s body. Anyhow, I should not think of it as something belonging to an isolated past, because past things shape our present, and future, too.

Today I was asked by a friend how I felt after the performance. I realised that a Noh performance is like a marriage ceremony. It is a very important event, to which family and friend partake, celebrating a vow of faithfulness and dedication. But the ceremony only lasts one day. What really counts is all the effort behind and before it, and the new path ahead.

Kei’un-kai, INI Gala Recital 2013 full programme

June 29~30 (Saturday and Sunday), 2013

Kongo Nohgakudo, Karasuma Ichijo-sagaru, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-0912
Tel: 075 -441-7222

Please join us at the Kongo Nohgakudo for an opportunity to experience Noh in a variety of forms: shimai, dance excerpts; Maibayashi, dance excerpts with the accompaniment of the Noh ensemble of instruments as well as the chorus; Rengin, concert style performance of a Noh excerpt performed by students in formal kimono and hakama; and 3 fully costumed Noh performances each day.

• Descriptions of the content of each piece will be available in programs provided in English, French, German and Italian.
• The recital is free of charge and open to all. We look forward to seeing you at the Nohgakudo.

Day I Featuring International Noh Institute Students

June 29th (Saturday)

(from about 11.00am)

仕舞 Shimai dance excerpts in formal wear performed to the accompaniment of a small chorus.

舞囃子 Maibayashi excerpt to the accompaniment of the Noh ensemble and chorus:
「胡　蝶」KOCHO ‘The Butterfly’ shite: Cristina Picelli.

Bangai-Shimai Dances by professional Noh performers (UDAKA Tatsushige and UDAKA Norishige):
「加　茂」KAMO
「玉之段」TAMA-NO-DAN

(from about 12:00, noon)
Noh:『清経』KIYOTSUNE Shite: Diego Pellecchia Tsure: Monique Arnaud.

(about 1:20 p.m.)
Rengin concert-style recitation of an excerpt from a Noh.

Bangai-Shimai (performed by UDAKA Michishige):
「鉄　輪」KANAWA

(from about 2:00 p.m.)
Noh:『小鍛冶』 KOKAJI ‘The Swordsmith’ Shite: SOMYO Tadasuke

(from about 3:20 p.m.)
Shimai, dance excerpts

(from about 4:00 p.m.)
Noh: 『猩　々』SHOJO Shite: HIRASAWA Yumiko

Day II Featuring Keiun-kai Students

June 30th (Sunday)

Rengin concert-style recitation of an excerpt from a Noh

(from about 11:20 p.m.)
Shimai

(about 11:40 p.m.)
Noh: 『羽　衣・盤渉』HAGOROMO Banshiki ‘The Robe of Feathers’ Shite: ITOH Yuki

Maibayashi excerpt with the accompaniment of the Noh ensemble:
「融」TORU

(about 1:00 p.m.)
Shimai

Rengin concert style recitation of an excerpt from a Noh.

Bangai Shimai(performed by UDAKA Michishige):
「藤　戸」FUJITO

(from about 2:00 p.m.)
Noh: 『黒塚・白頭』KUROZUKA ‘The Black Mound’ Hakutoh Shite: KUROTAKE Sadato

(from about 3:10 p.m.)
Maibayashi excerpt with the accompaniment of the Noh ensemble:
「松　風」MATSUKAZE
Shimai

(from about 4:00 p.m.)
Noh: 『猩　々』SHOJO Shite: NAGAO Atsushi

*Feel free to come and go quietly as you please during the recital.
*Be sure your cell phone is set on silent or manner mode.
*You may take pictures, but the use of flash is strictly prohibited.
*Please enjoy the tea and sweets provided.

Noh workshop at HUB Kyoto

On Sunday 21st April the INI International Noh Institute will hold a Noh workshop at the HUB Kyoto, Kyohakuin (see below for details & directions).

NOH THEATRE WORKSHOP

INI Encounters with Noh Series

at HUB Kyoto

21 April, 14:00-17:15

Noh drama, Japanese traditional theatre of masks, music and abstract and mimetic movement, is the world’s oldest masked performance tradition. It has been performed uninterrupted for over six hundred years, and in 2001 was designated an Intangible World Heritage by UNESCO. Noh portrays a world where the boundaries of past, present, and future blur and our consciousness of memory, the moment, and anticipation of what is to come unite. In this singular environment, the spirits of elegant ladies and fierce warriors, gods and goddesses, flowering plants and demons appear and share nostalgic memories of their desires and attachments.

In the INI Encounters with Noh Workshop at HUB Kyoto, participants will learn the basic principles of Noh theatre in the tradition of the Kongō School. This includes basic meditation in preparation for training, physical/vocal warm up exercises, chant and dance movements through the study of a short dance excerpt.

No previous knowledge of Noh is required. The workshop will be conducted in English.

The workshop will be led by Dr. Diego Pellecchia, Noh scholar, student of Udaka Michishige, and active member of the International Noh Institute.

Students are kindly asked to bring comfortable clothes and socks (preferably white)

Participation fee: ¥5,000

Concessions (students): ¥2,500

Observation fee: ¥1000

This workshop is restricted to 10 places. Please book by e-mailing hubkyoto@gmail.com

About the INI – International Noh Institute

The International Noh Institute was founded in 1984 in response to the urging of foreigners studying with UDAKA Michishige as members of his student group and participants of intensive courses. Since then, UDAKA Michishige has taught students from various disciplines, including actors, dancers, psychologists and scholars, from thirteen countries through INI programs.

Access

HUB Kyoto, Kyohakuin, 682 Shokokuji monzen-mae,

Kamigoryomae-agaru, Karasuma-dori, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto

TEL: 075-417-0115

Nearest station: Kuramaguchi on the Karasuma Subway Line.

Walk 3 minutes south (towards Doshisha University, Imadegawa-dori) on the east side of Karasuma-dori. Kyohakuin is between a tobacco shop and koban police box.

Kiyotsune 29 June 2013

I am pleased to announce that on 29 June 2013 I will take shite lead role in the Noh Kiyotsune「清経」on the Kongo Noh Theatre stage, in Kyoto, Japan. This will be my first performance as shite in a full Noh production. The event is part of the INI International Noh Institute 2013 Gala Recital, featuring other performances by Japanese and international students of Udaka Michishige, and is co-hosted by the Asahi Shibun Foundation, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, and Gochang Conservation Institute of Cultural Properties, in collaboration with ISEAS Italian School of East Asian Studies. I will post more on Kiyotsune during the following weeks, so watch this space for updates on rehearsals, thoughts, and pictures!

I look forward to meeting you all on 29 June 2013 in Kyoto!

Udaka Michishige no Kai 宇髙通成の会 INI – International Noh Institute 国際能楽研究会

The International Noh Institute Taikai Gala Recital 2013

Kiyotsune

29 June 2013 12:00-14:00

Kongo Noh Theatre, Kyoto

Shite: Diego PELLECCHIA, Tsure: Monique ARNAUD

FREE ADMISSION Explanatory materials available in English, Italian, French and German. Kongo Noh Theatre Subway Karasuma-Imadegawa (K06), South Exit 6, walk South 300m.

The event is co-hosted by:

The Asahi Shinbun Foundation

公益財団法人朝日新聞文化財団

in collaboration with