NOH and KYOGENNoh and Kyogen

The New Found in the Old
Oda Sachiko

The “New” Found in Fukkyoku Revival Pieces
Noh, as a classic drama, has always explored types of “newness” while emphasizing its traditions and their transmission. One of these is fukkyoku. Fukkyoku arerevivals of noh plays, some of which had been performed again in the Edo period
but whose performances had ceased and were removed from the repertory (alsoknown as haikyoku—pieces no longer performed, or bangai noh—pieces that are
not part of the repertory). In a narrow sense, such noh pieces that have been038

revived since the 1950s came to be called fukkyoku noh, and their number had
reached 85 by the end of 2005 (Nogaku Daijiten [Noh Encyclopedia], Chikuma
Shobo Publishing). The method for these revivals is usually based on the existence of an old script and references to old production information to which newcomposition (fushitsuke) and new choreography (katatsuke) are created. The
most important thing is that the work considered has historical significance andan attractive quality in the present and second is the introduction of new elements in the piece’s directing and acting. It can be said that the unique quality ofrevivals is the mixture of the old and the new, as well as the contradictory vectorsof the old and the new. In recent years, along with the increase in the number ofrevivals and the number of groups working on them, the methods for creatingsuch revivals have also diversified. In particular, the ko-enshutsu joen or “oldstyle performances” (the provisional name that refers to the re-staging of past
performing styles that have been discontinued and also includes current nohplays), which have become popular since around 1985, have an affinity for exploring the newness in oldness, which tends to be associated with revivals. Below, I
would like to take a look at the revivals of 2022 and give an overview of thecurrent state of fukkyoku (listed in order of title, date, location, organizer, andcomments).

Kamo Monogurui (The Madwoman of Kamo)(July 28 and 30, the National Noh Theatre, Monthly Theme: A Genealogy of Madness in
Noh Plays, Special Program of Noh Performance, Rediscover Noh)

Since its opening in 1983, the National Noh Theatre has produced new works,
revivals, and old-style performances, and this program is its biggest event of theyear. What is noteworthy isthe thorough outreach and publicity for the event . In
addition to a gorgeous leaflet and pre-performance commentary by Amano
Fumio, who supervised the project, the extensive pamphlet includes the script of
the performance with a modern Japanese translation, commentary and discussion, contributions by the shite (main actor) Kanze Kiyokazu and others, as wellas the Aoi Matsuri-zu Byobu (Aoi Festival Design Folding Screen) by Nishimura
Nantei. A special public lecture was also held on July 4 with demonstrations.
Information dissemination and pre-performance learning programs have039

become common for other revivals, which compensate for the fact that they are“premieres.” The performance was filled with the enthusiasm and passion of theshite, and new innovations were developed, especially in the dance. There may bepros and cons to the rather excessive costuming and acting, but it is certainly arevival and an example of free creation that is not bound by the strict principlesof traditional performance. In fact, Kamo Monogurui is not a haikyoku (a discontinued piece); it is a current piece in the Hosho, Kongo and Kita schools. This
performance by the Kanze school revived the nearly extinct first half, and theeclectic script relied on the utaibon (chant book) of the Komparu school lineage
while incorporating a chant that has been handed down in the Kanze school as
rangyoku (short solo sections from older bangai pieces that often have unusualchant characteristics). The manner in which the script was created and the newstaging of the piece gave it a quality quite unlike the conventional characteristics
of revival pieces.

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Hanaikusa (The Battle of Flowers)(October 5, Toyota City Noh Theater, Nohgaku Performers’ Association, Toyota City
Cultural Promotion Foundation)

This is part of the All-Japan Noh Caravan program developed by the Nohgaku
Performers’ Association. Based on the original work by Kanze Nagatoshi (1488?–
1541?), the last noh playwright of the Muromachi period, this furyu noh (a piecethat generally features spectacle or show-like characteristics), where the spirits ofdifferent flowers divide into two groups and compete for superiority, is similar inmanner to the battle stories of the Muromachi period civil war tales. Although it
is a small piece, it has historical significance and charm. It was also good to adopt
the ai-kyogen from what was apparently a later piece, Konomi-arasoi (The Battleof Fruits and Nuts). The script is a blending of the oldest book of play texts, Kanze
Motoyori-bon, and its revised version from the Edo period. The direction follows
the revised version. In this way, the recent trend is to not always use the originaltext as the first priority but instead search for ways to create the best performance040

with each revival and re-performance. In 2019, Kongo Hisanori revived the noh
Susuki (revised and re-performed at the National Noh Theatre on September 23),
which is another such ambitious revival.

Awade-no-mori (The Labyrinthine Forest)(November 12, Nagoya Noh Theater, Revival Noh Viewing Program, co-sponsored by
the Nagoya Noh Promotion Association)

Kanze school shite actors Kato Shingo, Hasegawa Haruhiko, and Komuro
Tomoya and Izumi kyogen school actor Okutsu Kentaro formed a group in 2021
and have performed the revival Wada-sakamori and other renditions of Soga
pieces. Awade-no-mori is an old work written before 1456. It is thought that it
may have been created by Komparu Zenchiku (1405–1470?). The story is about afather who can see his deceased daughter after burning special incense that issaid to bring back the spirits of the dead.
The piece is characterized by novel developments, such as when the father
and daughter stay in the same inn yet are unaware of each other, the daughter
dying on stage and her body being buried, and the daughter appearing in a cloud

of smoke. What is eye opening is that this type of noh has parallels to mugen(phantasm) noh. There are few documents from which to base the production, so
the direction and choreography is quite original, and the movement of the actors
probably needs further refinement. The text was created by noh researcher Ikai
Takamitsu and is based on the 1686 Sanbyaku-ban-bon text collection.

Kyogen Hakamasaki (A Hakama Pair Becomes Two)
(March 25 and 26, National Noh Theatre, Special Project Performance, Rediscover Noh
and Kyogen)This is a postponed performance that was originally scheduled for March 2020.
The new script by Nomura Matasaburo (script, direction, and shite) combines theplot described in the oldest kyogen book, Tensho Kyogen Bon, along with researchon Edo period paintings. While the popular play Futari-bakama depicts the slapstick comedy of two people sharing one hakama (trouser-skirt) by splitting it inhalf, Hakamasaki splits only one side of the hakama and unfolds it to make itlook like two connected hakama. Although described as a revival or reconstruc-041

tion, it has a strong creative side, yet it is meaningful relative to the current piece
Futari-bakama.
The above-mentioned revivals, which started with respecting the original
texts of the pieces, have created new direction and performances, thus moving
the vector toward that of creation. Old scripts are no longer necessarily the mostimportant aspect of a revival. Partial revisions have been seen for some time, butthere was also the completely new kyogen Hakamasaki. The 2021 performance of
Tsuna may be the first such example from noh (revised and re-performed thisyear on December 9). The program, titled Reconstructing Creative Noh, used a
new script created by researcher Nishino Haruo that was based on notes from thelate Muromachi period while consulting the later performances of nagauta andkabuki. Performances that make use of old records of noh and kyogen as starting
points for creations will likely continue to increase in the future. What is necessary is to clarify the purpose of the performance, leave a record of the history ofcreating the revival, and actively critique such works. The work of the dramaturg,
who oversees the whole, will also become increasingly important.
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NOH and KYOGENThe Power of Otsuki Bunzo
One of the leaders in the noh world in recent years is Otsuki Bunzo (Kanze
school shite actor who was born in 1942), whose highly dignified and consistent
performances have led him to develop a wide range of activities at the Otsuki
Noh Theatre in Osaka, where he is based. Since the 1980s, he has been actively
working on revivals and performing old-style productions. This year he hadmany performances one after the other of such difficult pieces as Eguchi,
Motomezuka, and Teika. The ranbyoshi variant of the difficult Higaki (May 7)
made me realize the latent power Otsuki places on both tradition and innovation. The performance, from April to June at the Yokohama Noh Theater, wastitled Three Old Women and was one of the kikaku (designed) performances,where three master actors performed Obasute, Higaki and Sekidera Komachi,
which is considered the three most profound pieces of noh. Higaki is the story
about the ghost of an old woman from Higaki, who was once a shirabyoshi
dancer who took pride in her beauty, who continues to draw water with a hot
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iron bucket. It is a difficult piece with many naraigoto (secret teachings). And an
old style performance is employed that incorporates a ranbyoshi variant (a special
shirabyoshi or stamping technique) within the jo-no-mai dance. Otsuki’s acting
is dispassionate without emphasizing an “old woman” character or a thematic“pain of hell” but instead entrusts the dramatic expression to the chorus (thechorus head is Umewaka Rosetsu). The scene that had a strong impact was in the
middle of the dance (the oroshi or slowdown in the second dan) in which thedancer leaned against the left pillar at the front of the reed hut to take a rest whilelooking upward diagonally for a long time. The angle of the mask looking up at
the sky and the appearance of standing with the body pressed firmly against thepillar was extremely unusual, but it conveyed realistically the loneliness of theshite thinking about her long life. It seems that Otsuki chose this passage as the
key point of Higaki and expressed it in a bold way that no one had ever previously
attempted. In general, this writer has previously had the impression that Otsuki’s
performances easily hide passionate emotions and strong dramatizations withmeticulous and stylish choices of masks and costumes and a delicacy of movements. But Higaki was a superb performance envisioned by Otsuki, where beauty

and dramatic quality both resonated clearly.

Noh Actors Who Carry the Future
The 44th Kanze Hisao Commemorative Hosei University Nohgaku Prize wasawarded to Mikata Shizuka (Kanze School shite actor who was born in 1966),
who has drawn the strong attention of audiences as one of the most energetic
actors in the noh world. He is based in Kyoto and is the organizer of the group
Theatrenoh. For the 44th Theatrenoh performance held in Tokyo (July 2,
National Noh Theatre), there was an excellent showing of the Dojoji variant
Hyoshi-nashi no kuzushi, which was postponed in 2020. Mikata’s performance
had clear character portrayal and expressive intention with little ambiguity. His
words and movement perfectly created the inner expression of the shite, making
it much like watching a modern dialogue play. He made full use of this characteristic in Dojoji, where the physical acting is constructed to create a thrillingplay. After the gripping ranbyoshi section, with its drawn-out, sporadic beats, theKyu-no-mai dance was attacked with an unmatched speed. It was followed in the043

second half by the Inori prayer dance featuring the shite wrapping his collapsedshoulders around the shite pillar, which seemed to express intense regret. Despite
very little shite chanting, Mitaka made full use of high and low pitches, strong
and soft chants, and timing spaced freely to express inner feelings. Even if you
are unfamiliar with noh, Mikata’s performance certainly generates excitement
and perhaps is even too stimulating . There is bound to be more that will unfold.
Uzawa Hikaru (Kanze School shite actor who was born in 1979), who
belongs to Tessenkai, gave a youthful and vibrant portrayal of the eternallyunsatisfied soul of the main character (September 2, Shibuya Noh second night)
in her first performance of Nonomiya. Uzawa’s distinct characteristic is her
careful crafting of each movement. Her use of the mask stands out, and her gazeat the brushwood fence and torii gate is heartfelt. Her individuality could be seenin the flow from the jo-no-mai to the ha-no-mai, which captured a frenzy ofsadness. The venue, the Shibuya Cerulean Tower Noh Theatre, has only about
200 seats, which helps convey the delicate expressions of the mask, along with thebreadth of the actors. Perhaps, noh was originally a type of theatre that fitted into
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such an intimate space. The coexistence of Mikata and Uzawa, who both carry
the future of noh, demonstrates the depth of expression in noh, with these contrasting pieces and styles of performance.
● Yorozukyogen sponsored Ancestor Festival: The 300th Anniversary of the Birthof Nomura Manzo I (October 16, National Noh Theatre) received the Grand Prize
for the 77th Agency for Cultural Affairs Art Festival. The performance, with acolorful diversity of guests and pieces, was characterized by various innovations
and new ideas. The kyogen furyu Chichi-no-jo furyu yorozu-no-shiki is a playful
new work with a new direction by Manzo IX, with the theme of the Manzo family’s saké. Meanwhile, Man (born in 1930), who performed the kyogen
Kenbutsu-zaemon, has a strong voice that, as in the past, takes my breath away.
Manzo, who has recovered from illness, launched the Manzo no Kai on his birthday, December 23, last year. The program’s freshness, which discards ambition, is
pleasing, and it demonstrates the quality of warmth. The program is scheduled to044

be held on the same day every year, and this year was its second iteration.
●The Nohgaku Times

The Nohgaku Times, a monthly newspaper about the world of nohgaku, will cease
publication after the February 2023 issue. Published by Nohgaku Shorin(founded by Maruoka Katsura in 1907), which publishes books related to noh,the Nohgaku Times, since its first publication in March 1952, has for over 70
years published noh and kyogen news, including information on performancesand stage reviews, from across all schools of noh. It has also been a first-classsource that traced the history of nohgaku after World War II. I am humbled by
the sense of mission of successive company owners who disregarded profitability
yet continued to publish. There is no end to the voices of lament for its suspension, which is said to be the result of poor sales of chant books and other factors
due to the pandemic.
●Describing the World of Noh during the Pandemic

The movement to record the ripples and effects of the pandemic has been

remarkable. Since March 2020, the Nohgaku Times has provided real-time information on cancellations, postponements of performances, the various responses
in the world of nohgaku, as well as online information. The Department ofIntangible Cultural Heritage of the Tokyo National Research Institute forCultural Properties launched a website titled New Coronavirus and Intangible
Cultural Heritage and made A Report and Discussion by Traditional Performing Arts
Performers and Related Parties in September 2020. It continues to conduct extensive

surveys and reports on all aspects of performing arts. In addition, symposiums
and reports using Zoom were held by the Musashino University Noh ResearchArchives, the Gakugeki Gakkai Society of Music and Drama, and the Nohgaku
Gakkai Society of Nohgaku and were published in the same year in each organization’s bulletin. This year for the 70th anniversary of The Nogami Memorial
Noh Theatre Research Institute of Hosei University, a special exhibition titledCrisis and Noh - How We Accepted and Overcame It was held by the HOSEI
Museum (September 2022–January 2023). While tracing the response of theworld of noh in the face of natural disasters and wars through exhibitions, sym-045

posiums, and booklets, the Institute took up the booklet Corona disaster andNoh. The booklet, to be published in September, outlines the trends before andafter the declaration of a state of emergency and specifically introduces the voices
of noh performers and their online activities. The above records convey the ingenuity, effort, solidarity and cooperation of noh performers who faced this crisis.
Through these activities, one feels the nurturing of new connections between
creators and recipients, such as online activities and crowdfunding.
●Various Awards

New member of the Japan Art Academy—Nomura Mansaku, Izumi School Kyogen actor
Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property (being recognized as anindividual is equivalent to being a Living National Treasure)—Otsubo Kimio, Hosho School Noh actor
Person of Cultural Merit—Yamamoto Tojiro, Okura School Kyogen actor
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43rd Matsuo Entertainment Awards Grand Prize—Nomura Mansai, Izumi School Kyogen actor
Oda, Sachiko
She is a researcher of noh and kyogen and has a doctorate from the Graduate Departmentof Literature, Hosei University. Her main areas of research are noh, the performance historyof Kyogen and research into classical works. Oda’s activities combine research andperformance activities, including theatre criticism, lecturing, commentary, and dramaturgy
for revival noh and ancient performing practices.
(Translation: Richard Emmert)

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