{"id":39641,"date":"2018-07-27T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2018-07-26T23:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=39641"},"modified":"2024-11-25T22:21:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T13:21:11","slug":"sado-island-noh-theatre-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/sado-island-noh-theatre-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Attending a Noh Theatre Play on Sado Island"},"content":{"rendered":"
Sponsored by Sado Island<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Noh theatre<\/strong>, a traditional form of Japanese dramaturgy that occupies a specific place in Sado Island<\/strong>\u2019s history, the 6th largest island in Japan. Once used as a land of exile, the island welcomed the famous Noh theatre playwright Zeami<\/strong> in the 15th century. While I was visiting the village of Hamochi<\/strong> for its annual festival, I had the opportunity to attend a Noh theatre play<\/strong> performed on one of the most iconic stages of the island. Here are the highlights from this experience.<\/p>\n Noh theatre<\/strong> got its inspiration from religion, as it originally was destined to celebrate the gods through dances using masks and props. Over the years, however, other influences, more profane ones, were added to these celebratory dances using stunts or comic texts.<\/p>\n But it was during the Muromachi era<\/strong> (1336-1573) that Noh theatre<\/strong> truly turned into the art form that is still performed today, a more codified and refined one. It is also during this time that it became less of a popular art form<\/strong> and more of entertainment reserved for the Japanese elite, such as shoguns<\/em> and samurai<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Among the several rules codifying Noh theatre, the first one is to keep the narrative weave as simple as possible and focus on conveying a strong feeling. Another example of these rules: the actors are split between two groups. The main actor, on the one hand, called shite<\/em>, who is at the heart of the action and wears a mask, and secondary actors on the other hand, or waki<\/em>, stay on the side of the stage without wearing masks. The stage design is voluntarily kept very minimal, the only decor being the painting on the back wall, most of the time representing a pine tree.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If costumes and masks have a major role to play in Noh theatre<\/strong>, music is very present too, accompanying the actions of the actions of the hero.<\/p>\n To help you measure the cultural significance of Noh, it is one of the very first art forms to have been registered on UNESCO\u2019s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage<\/strong> in 2008!<\/p>\n As I mentioned previously, Noh theatre was first imported to Sado Island with the exile of Zeami<\/strong>, the playwright that vastly contributed to codifying and perfecting the art form<\/strong>. However, it is only much later, under the Edo<\/strong> era, that this art truly gained popularity on the island, driven by Sado\u2019s deputy and former actor Nagayasu Okubo<\/strong>. Stages dedicated to Noh theatre performances were built all around the island, most of the times within shrine grounds. At the peak of its popularity, Sado Island counted more than 200 Noh stages!<\/strong> Even though that number has dropped to 30 today, the island still has a third of all Noh theatre stages in Japan nowadays. Every year, performances are given from June to August and initiation workshops are also given.<\/p>\n It is in Hamochi Village<\/strong>, within Kusakari Shrine grounds that I was able to attend my first Noh theatre play. And this is not just any Noh stage, but considered one of the first stages to have welcomed performances on Sado Island.<\/p>\nA bit of history<\/h2>\n
Sado Island\u2019s cultural exception<\/h2>\n
Attending a Noh theatre play<\/h2>\n