Hitachi Takigi Noh Have you ever heard of Noh

Hitachi Takigi Noh

Have you ever heard of Noh? Noh is one of Japanese traditional theatrical arts in which vocal, music and dance are mixed with use of masks. It is a very high level poetic type of theater. Noh is sometimes compared to opera or musical. When talking about Noh, we shouldn’t forget Kyogen, which is always put on in a set with Noh. Kyogen is a comedy which is mainly composed of words and lines. Takigi Noh is the sacred theatrical ceremony which involves burning fire around the Noh and Kyogen stage.
On Nov. 3rd, this Takigi Noh was performed in front of the Hitachi Civic Center. Hitachi has a long history of Noh and Kyogen. When building the Hitachi Civic Center, local people gathered 5,000 people’s signature to build Noh equipment inside. That is the reason why there is Noh stage inside the music hall of the Civic Center. Up until this year, 14 performance was taken place in the Civic Center. Members of the Noh and Kyogen lovers’ circle are now saying that they want hold 15th performance to be shown outside Takigi Noh.

This year, Takigi Noh came true in memory of 15th anniversary of the circle, and also as the celebration of merger of Hitachi City and Juo Town. At 17:00 on Nov. 3rd, firewood was put on fire and a priest prayed in front of the stage. The usual scenery outside was changed into a Noh theater. The running orders are as follows:
“Matsukaze”(Noh, poetic play)
The ghost of a woman called Matsukaze, who was once loved by a lady-killer, dances madly whilst wearing her lover’s kimono in front of a priest who is on a pilgrimage.
“Fukuro Yamabushi”(Kyogen, comedy)
One of the brothers haunted by an owl summons a doctor, who happens to be a mountain priest. But the priest’s prayers worsen his illness, and by way of infection, the other brother also changes into an owl.
And….! The end of this Kyogen made even a few foreign spectators burst out laughing.

“Takasago”(Han-Noh, half Noh play)
This is a Noh written by Zeami, the Noh writer. The lines of this play are often cited at wedding ceremonies. On this occasion the Noh was played as a Han-Noh, meaning that was enacted only the latter half of the play. Takasago prays for the peace and harmony of society and for the love and long life of husbands and wives. This Takigi Noh prays high heaven for the bright future of the newly amalgamated Hitachi City and Juo Town.

In summary, Noh is usually played only by male performers, but this time, the role of Matukaze was played by a female performer. It was very refreshing to see this. We were also surprised at the professionalism of the pamphlets made by the local Noh lovers’ group. The Civic Center staff’s well-handled guidance of spectators was also noteworthy. The only regrettable thing was that most of the spectators seemed to be senior citizens. We would like to quote the word of the Civic Center’s staff to the youngsters of Hitachi “Everyone should try to see Noh once in their lifetime.”