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N K yogen2022
oh andDecember 24
from 2:00 p.m.
The Japan Foundation
Official YouTube Channel
https://youtu.be/u4tNmSJLaxQ

NohDAIESat.

(The Great Sermon)

KATAYAMA Kurouemon
Kanz e Sc h o o l No h a ctor

KyogenFUTARI DAIMYO(The Two Feudal Lords)

SHIGEYAMA Sengoro
Okura School Kyogen actor

Free for one year
Both productions will be presented with English subtitles giving a synopsis of the plot.

Presented by：The Japan Foundation Kyoto Ofﬁce
In cooperation with：KatayamawithNoh and Kyomai Preservation Foundation・Shigeyama Kyogen Troupe
Kyoto Kanze Association・Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

online video streaming Free

NohDaie (The Great Sermon)“Daie” means a great sermon in Buddhism. In this piece, it refers speciﬁcally to Sakyamuniʼs greatsermon.
One day, a tengu in the guise of a yamabushi mountain priest appears before a Buddhist monk intraining. The tengu says that the monk has once saved his life, so as a token of gratitude, he offers
to grant the monk any wish he desires. The tengu had once been dropped from a tree when he wasdisguised as a bird. Just as he was about to be killed, the monk had come and saved him. The monk
replies that he has always cherished the thought of seeing Sakyamuni deliver his sermon on theVulture Peak. The tengu agrees to gratify his wish and show him the sermon, but warns the monk
not to worship what he sees for it is not real, and then leaves.
The tenguʼs servant appears and recounts the story of how the tenguʼs life was saved.
The tengu reappears, in the guise of Sakyamuni and replicates the sermon. The monk, on seeing this,cannot help but worship the false image of the Buddha. No sooner has he done that than Indra, theguardian deity of Buddhism, descends from the heavens, rebuking the tengu for deluding the monk.
Startled, the tengu sheds his disguise and reveals his true form. He apologizes, and then vanishes.
Tengusʼ existence destroys peopleʼs faith in Buddhism. Their evolution has taken some twists andturns, and in Japan, as we get closer to modern times, these creatures are often depicted as having
long noses. However, tengu in Noh plays do not have this prominent feature.
Among the various types of Noh plays, there are Noh plays characterized by a faster tempo andwhich tell a fairytale-like story, like this piece, “Daie”.

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EniiveengASynopsisy g n 2022
Noh Kyogen
andThe Two Feudal Lords

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Two feudal lords are headed to the capital city of Kyoto. Unaccompanied by his servant, theprotagonist feudal lord has to carry his tachi or long sword himself. They see a passerby and force
him into service to carry the sword. Feeling indignant at the arrogance of the two feudal lords, thepasserby swings the sword as if to slash the two, catching them off guard. The passerby turns thetables on the two. The two feudal lords have their clothes taken away and are made to act likeroosters and dogs, laying themselves open to teasing.
In this “low overcoming the high” parable, the feudal lords, forgetting that they are being teased,gradually start to feel amused and end up having fun together with the man. The performancebrings the laid-back atmosphere of medieval times to life.

Every year in autumn, The Japan Foundation Kyoto Ofﬁce organizes an event called “An Eveningof Noh and Kyogen” to give people an opportunity to experience traditional Japanese culture. Thisyear, performances will be recorded once again to increase public visibility. Following that, theserecordings will be available for free one-year online video viewing.
ContactThe Japan Foundation Kyoto Ofﬁce TEL : 075
075-762762-1136
1136