Recital

2022 Kei’un-kai Summer Recital

On July 24 2022 (Sun) the 2022 Kei’un-kai Summer Recital will be held at Kurochiku Momochitaru-kan, a beautiful traditional house off Shinmachi-dōri, in the heart of Kyoto. There is a proper nō stage on the second floor of the building. Coincidentially, the second round of Gion matsuri floats parade is scheduled for this day, and I expect the neighborhood to be in a high festive mood. Yet, this day marks the end of the great festival celebrations: the floats will be taken apart and stored away until next year. This is the first proper Gion matsuri celebration we will have since the pandemic, so I am very much looking forward to it.

This year’s Summer Recital will be rather small, because it is still difficult for some to move with ease across busy train stations, or join events that may include eating/drinking. Also, it is still basically impossible for people abroad to come to Japan, unless they hold a work or study visa. Thankfully, INI members / Summer Intensive participants who are already in Japan will be able to join the recital.

Students from the Kyoto Sangyo University nō club will also participate.

I am going to perform the kiri of the nō Funa Benkei. This is a rather difficult piece involving numerous complex movements with a naginata, as well as lots of jumping and twisting here and there. Fun, but tiring, especially this season.

Matsuyama Shimin Noh 2014 – Aoinoue mumyo no inori

Next Sunday (November 3rd, which is both my birthday and the ‘culture day’ in Japan) I will take part to the Matsuyama Shimin Noh performance at the Yamatoya Honten Noh stage in Matsuyama, Shikoku. The event begins at 10:00 with a recital (entry free of charge), featuring Udaka Michishige’s students. I will perform a shimai, or dance excerpt, from the Noh Uta-ura, and will sing in the su-utai chanting of the Noh Kogō. The main event will be Udaka-sensei’s performance of Aoinoue in the ‘mumyō no inori’ kogaki, or variation. I am lucky enough to have a privileged observation spot, serving in the ji-utai chorus for this performance.

Every year in November Udaka Michishige takes the shite main role at the Matsuyama Shimin Noh performance. Although based in Kyoto, Udaka regularly teaches both utai/shimai and mask carving in Nagoya, Okazaki, Tokyo, Yokohama, and Matsuyama in Shikoku, the area where his family originally comes from. He is a descendent of two Shikoku families: Udaka and Kawada. The Udaka family had a castle in Niihama City during the medieval period and later served the Matusdaira clan feudal lords in Matsuyama as Noh actors from 1712 until the start of the Meiji period.

For this year’s shimin Noh we are giving away 2 free tickets to the first two people who contact us so make sure not to miss this chance if you are in Matsuyama next weekend! Find contact details below.

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Aoinoue

Based on an episode from the Tale of Genji, the 11th century masterpiece by Murasaki Shikibu, the main character is not Lady Aoi, the wife of Prince Genji, but Lady Rokujo, the most intriguing female character in the novel. Once Genji’s lover but now abandoned by him and filled with resentment towards his wife after a humiliating incident at the Kamo Festival where her coach was forced out of its viewing spot by Lady Aoi’s retainers, Lady Rokujō’s living spirit torments her rival. A shamaness is sent to discover the source of the possession of Lady Aoi and then an exorcism is performed by the priest Kohijiri, finally bringing Rokujo to her senses by calling on the power of the Buddhist sutras. In the mumyō no inori kogaki or ‘Exorcism in Spiritual Darkness Variation’, the robe used to represent Lady Aoi is white rather than red, and Lady Rokujo leaves the stage for a change of costume rather than retreating to the koken-za stage attendants’ seat for only a change of mask. She returns in nagabakama, long vermillion trousers, often with a Nagakamoji, an extension of the wig that emphasises that Lady Rokujo’s is a noblewoman, increasing the sense of horror at the intensity of the expression of her jealousy in choreography also more graphic than in the standard production.

(Text by Rebecca Teele Ogamo)

Ehime University Noh Club

Udaka Michishige has taught students of the Ehime University Noh Theatre Club for over 30 years. Club activities include the practice of Noh chant and dance as well as workshops and performances. Every year in November club members join other students of Udaka at Matsuyama Municipal Noh Performance. Lessons are held both in Japanese and in English.  Email: Kmct1q_es@ezweb.ne.jp

For information please contact:

KYOTO
Keiun-kai INI Main Offices, Training Center
111 Satta-cho, Kami-takano, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-0047
Tel: (075)701-1055
Fax: (075)701-1058

Email: ogamo-tr@mbox.kyoto-inet.or.jp (c/o Rebecca TEELE-OGAMO)

MATSUYAMA
Matsuyama Keiun-kai Shikibutai
Yamagoe 4-chome 11-38, Matsuyama, Ehime
Tel/Fax: (089) 924-8554

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.

Yashima shimai in Matsuyama

I am going to perform the shimai (short dance excerpt of a longer play) of the Noh Yashima on Friday 23rd November, on the occasion of Udaka Michishige’s performance at the Matsuyama Shimin Noh at the Dogo Yamatoya Nogakudo in Matsuyama.

This is my third shura-mono (warrior play) shimai after I danced the kiri section of Tamura, and the maibayashi of Kiyotsune. As I have pointed out in a previous post, dancing shura-mono (second category plays) is rather challenging because of the kamae posture which in the case of warriors often switches to the hanmi (lit. ‘half-body) martial mode. This posture, thrusting half of the body forward, and keeping the other half covered, is probably familiar to those who practice any kind of martial art. The idea is offering the least possible amount of body to the opponent, while being ready to attack.

Hanmi feet (the way I see them)

Unlike the basic kamae, this position is fairly asymmetrical and requires advanced knowledge of weight distribution to master. One of the tricky bits of hanmi is walking: while basic kamae does not change while walking – one does not change much of the posture when either walking or simply standing – it is not possible to keep hanmi while taking more than a just a few steps. This means that the actor starts a movement in hanmi, then changes into a more symmetrical feet posture, and then ends the movement again in hanmi. Therefore, the last step of a walking sequence should be performed so that the body ends being in hanmi. Normally this produces a rather dramatic effect of enlargement of the figure of the shite as he comes to a halt, especially when approaching sumi, the corner of the Noh stage that is thrusted into the auditorium. Hanmi also influences all the other kata, for example shikake-hiraki (pointing and opening) might be performed in a right hanmi when pointing, switching to left hanmi when opening, and then back to normal.

My teacher seems to be keen on teaching me warrior dances lately: I don’t feel I am particularly prone to this kind of characters, but I trust my sensei’s experience of knowing when it is the right time to progress on this path.

Wish me good luck! (I might or might not have pictures of the performance to show in the future).

INI – International Noh Institute Gala Recital

This year’s INI – International Noh Institute Gala Recital celebrates 50 years of stage life of its founder, Master-Actor Udaka Michishige (Kongo School).

Noh: Yuki (‘The Snow’)

Makiginu (‘The Rolls of Silk’)

The program will also include a variety of chant and dance excerpts. Foreign and Japanese students of Udaka Michishige will perform on stage. Information material will be available in English and Japanese.

Place: Kongo Noh Theatre, Kyoto. Subway Karasuma line: get off at Karasuma-Imadegawa (K06), South Exit 6, walk South 300m and find the theatre on the right.

Time: 12 June 2010 (Sat) 1:00pm – 5:30pm.

Fee: Free of charge. The audience is free to come and go quietly.

A reception will follow from 6:30pm (fee: 1000 yen). Come share your impressions on Noh theatre and to talk to the teacher and the performers! Meet us at ‘Tenshokan’（天正館）2nd Fl., Mukadeya-cho 380, Shinmachidori Nishiki-koji-agaru Subway Karasuma-Shijo, Exit 24, walk West, then North at Shijo-Shinmachi (about 5 minutes). Click here for a directions from the Kongo Theatre to Tenshokan.

FULL PROGRAMME

Map for the Kongo Nogakudo (金剛能楽堂)