• Noh: 清経, 竜田, 熊坂  (Kiyotsune, Tatsuta, Kumasaka)

11/8/20 (Sun), Tokyo

Today’s shows, appropriately enough, were all pieces set in autumn. Having seen shows by the Kanze, Kita and Hosho schools in recent weeks, I added Konparu to the list today, though without knowing it until after the fact. The theater had a dismal showing at maybe 10-20% capacity. I was furious to see that the singers wore masks hanging loosely over their faces. I really don’t want to be reminded of this virus while I’m watching a 15th-century play. If I had known that was the case, I wouldn’t have shown up. I’m definitely going to call beforehand and check that the next time. Continue reading →

• Noh: 三山, 昭君  (Mitsuyama, Shokun)

10/11/20 (Sun), Tokyo

I’ve seen shows at the Kanze and Kita schools in recent weeks, so now it’s Hosho’s turn (partly because I couldn’t get tickets for the sold-out Kanze performance). The shows today were both relative rarities. Each has the unusual feature of two characters entering after the break rather than just the star. The tickets were 70-80% sold, meaning 35-40% of the theater. I’m not sure how they make money on these, but I’m glad they’re pushing ahead. Continue reading →

• Noh: 定家、殺生石 (Teika, Sesshoseki)

10/3/20 (Sat), Tokyo

It was encouraging to see a nearly full house for live theater — that is, the available tickets (50% of capacity) were nearly sold out. People are definitely hungry for entertainment. Tokyo actually now allows shows to perform at full capacity, which some productions (such as the sold-out Japanese version of the musical Billy Elliot) are taking full advantage of. But the Noh world remains conservative and cautious, maybe because of the higher average age of the audience. Continue reading →

• Bunraku: Komochi Yamamba, Gonza the Lancer (嫗山姥, 鑓の権三)

9/13/20 (Sun), National Theatre

These are the first Bunraku performances since the pandemic hysteria began six months earlier, and they’re still in ultra-cautious mode: taking temperatures, requiring masks, asking us to tear off our own ticket stubs, and, most consequentially for them, cutting the seat count drastically by leaving every other seat open (even for those seeing the show together) and closing off the entire section in front of the narrators, presumably to prevent virus-filled spit from hitting the audience. It was all extremely grating, but I guess we should be grateful that at least there was a show. There were unusually no English earphone guides this month for some reason, so my companions had to rely on the detailed summary provided in the program.

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• Noh: 班女、遊行柳  (Hanjo, Yugyo Yanagi)

11/17/19 (Sun), Umewaka Noh Theater (Tokyo)

The pamphlet for today’s two shows say that they share an ambiguous ending that is supposed to make us wonder what happens to the characters thereafter. Both are also steeped in references to Chinese poetry, and I noted that they each refer in passing to the ancient Shirakawa Barrier in Fukushima, an oft-used place name in poetry and Noh plays that is associated with autumn.

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• Noh: 自然居士、正尊  (Jinen Koji, Shozon)

7/21/19 (Sun), Tokyo Umewaka Noh

Today’s offerings were both genzai Noh plays dealing with real-world events rather than ghosts. They date respectively from the beginning and end of the active period of Noh drama, the first by Noh’s esteemed founder Kan’ami and the second by the much later Yajiro Nagatoshi. They present a striking contrast, symbolizing how elegance and dance gave way to an emphasis on action in Noh’s evolution.

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• Noh: 江口、邯鄲 (Eguchi, Kantan)

3/17/19 (Sun), Umewaka Noh Theater, Tokyo

I showed up early for what I thought was a 1:00p curtain (so to speak) to discover that the show was underway after a rare 11:00a start. Several dance pieces had come and gone, and Eguchi was already into its second half. Nuts. Continue reading →