③英語のネイティブスピーカー、又はそれに準じる方の部 最優秀賞
受賞者名： Darren Craig

様The Internationalization of Nohgaku

From my five years of watching, nay devouring Nohgaku, every month, one thing is beyond doubt– Nohgaku is for the world. And yet, from the howling of the hayashi musicians to the susurrationsof the jiutai chorus and the slow steps of the actor’s dance, it appears to herald another world atsome remove from our own. What hashigakari is needed to bridge this theatre, so deeply informedby the traditions of Japan, with audiences from other cultural backgrounds? What action must be
taken to promote this medieval art form on the modern stage? I offer my humble advice.
First of all, I bow before the collaboration between the National Noh Theatre of Japan and RichardEmmert. Without his meticulous renderings of the Noh scripts into limpid English, I would never
have gotten so far in my love affair with Nohgaku. We must not underestimate how strange its
performance strategies are to audiences used to the conventions of Western musical theatre. There
are hardly any props to confirm setting, and even the emotions of the characters seem hidden in theactor’s restrained movements. Only the text can guide us into feeling, but without a thoroughgrounding in classical Japanese, we are lost in its subtle web of allusions. Can we really expect aninternational audience, unaided, to look at the bare stage of Yokihi and perceive, with their mind’seye, the vast palace about which the chorus sings? The Noh world is strange, but it is in thisstrangeness that magic works; given a little help in a language with which we are familiar. If we areserious about taking Nohgaku to audiences whose ears are unaccustomed to classical Japanese, thenwe must be serious about investing in surtitles.
My second point concerns programming. The Noh repertoire is vast; it is a truly daunting task thatfaces us in choosing only one or two plays for an international audience. Nonetheless, we should beconfident in the fact that while Nohgaku has roots which go deep into Japanese history, it also hasbranches that reach right across the world. Each and every time I watch Kanawa, this melodrama
about betrayal in marriage and the demonic wound which it inflicts, I am reminded how hearts
break in the same places, even when we are countries apart. Likewise, when I was fortunate enoughto catch a revival of Shōjō, a much lighter, celebratory play featuring a sprite that loves to guzzle
alcohol, I was never more convinced of the proximity between Japan and the rest of the world. By
focusing on our shared humanity, we will be able to select those Noh plays which resonate with aninternational audience.
At the same time, it would be foolish to overlook the participation of the Japanese themselves inour endeavour. I am referring not only to the Japanese performers and organisers within Nohgaku, I
am also addressing the wider public, especially young Japanese people. As fervent and sincere as
the appreciation of Nohgaku around the world may be, this will amount to little if we do not attract
young Japanese to the Noh theatre. Let us imagine it as a kindling of interest, as a great enthusiasm
sparking off from Japan to other countries. How might we stoke those flames? One answer,
garnered from years lecturing on Noh at a college in Tokyo, is to have a deep, intrepid think about
the word ‘traditional’. All too often, this single, unstable term is used to coerce the attention ofyoung people. But it is not enough in the case of Nohgaku, what we need are fresh details that whetthe appetite.
For instance, the metsuke-bashira. Untutored, would an audience member in any country know that
this pillar holds up not just the roof of the stage, but the entire performance as it orientates theactors through the teeny slits of their masks? The Noh actor is in constant peril of stepping too farand falling off the stage. Wobble then splat. My students gasped, some giggled. It wasn’t awe, it
wasn’t deep reverence yet it certainly wasn’t boredom.
Surtitles, sensitive programming and the support of young Japanese will bring
Nohgaku.

the world to