I’m sorry the pictures are really small and everything is hard to see. I forgot my camera and had to use my phone. But anyways, at a festival on Friday there was this traditional Noh performance going on at Hokkaido Temple.  Noh is similar to Kabuki, but also different in many ways.

Me, not being an expert on Noh, found a handy site to summarize it for you:

The earliest written reference to religious plays refers to Kagura (God music) a form of music and dance enacted in the presence of the gods, but as Buddhism spread its influence, and Buddhist priests became responsible for the literary preservation of the works, early comic content was removed, and the Noh plays developed as verse chanted by the actors.

The word Noh literally means accomplishment, and the format was refined between the 14^th and 16^th centuries into the song and dance format as it stands today. The classic repertoire consists of five types of play, God, Ghost, Woman, Mad-Person, and Demon, and each play lasts approximately an hour. Interspersed between each play will be a 20 minute Kyogen performance.

Kyogen to Noh is the equivalent of a West End musical to Grand Opera. It is usually set in present day, and has a high comic content. Noh is far more serious, with highly poetic lyrics, and serious dancing and singing.

Probably the single identifying feature of Noh theatre is the use of masks by the actors. These are probably recognised throughout much of the world, by people who have never even heard of Noh. Since facial expression is therefore not possible, emotion is conveyed through gestures such as foot stamping, or fan movements. All performers are male and the lyrics are chanted in a highpitched voice by actors and chorus. To one side of the stage is an orchestra of flute and drum and traditionally the staging is outside, but more usually nowadays, using a thatched stage canopy and a backdrop to represent trees. Stage “props” are minimal, and usually symbolic, such as the placing of a white kimono on stage to represent a dead person.

The main character in a Noh performance is the shite (pronounced sh’tay), usually appearing as a normal person in the first half, and later assuming his true form as a ghost of a famous person long departed. The secondary actor is the waki, usually a travelling priest. The story unfolds through his questioning of the main character. The chorus is known as jiutai and normally consists of eight people, narrating the background and the story itself.

http://www.btinternet.com/~umaremasu/theatre/index.html

And more again!

More pictures from the festival.

The Yosakoi Soran Festival

The Yosakoi Soran Festival is a traditional Japanese dance festival. However, according to some of my friends who went with me, some of the dances were very Chinese styled. Regardless, it was neat to watch. I apologize most of the pictures are blurry, we were far from the stage and it was getting dark.

There were hundreds of dancers there from middle school aged to middle aged it was really amazing to see the techniques used. Each group would do a single dance, during which they would change costumes multiple times. The costume changes happened so fast. Most commonly, the changes were done by removing a top later of the shirt and letting it hang around the waist. The color of the shirt beneath it would match the reverse side of the shirt lowered and the costume change was complete. It happened so quickly.

Everyone who danced was really good. It was interesting to see the variety of people dancing. They were from schools all around Japan. There was even a what appeared to be Dutch team.

One small positive note about Maruyama Zoo is they had a lot of free educational little activities for children there.

I did not like Maruyama Zoo. This is, in fact, the first zoo I have ever not liked. At all. While I have only been to one zoo in Japan, from what I can tell the Japanese do not care much for animals. The cages were wayyy too small and they valued the number of animals over the quality of care they were given. It really disgusted me to see how small some of the animals cages were. There was also a clear preference for Asian animals compared to the rest of them. Whether intentionally or unintentionally racist, the Asian animals seemed to be receiving much higher care than the others. Their cages, regardless of what type of animal, were always bigger. I was extremely displeased with this zoo. It made me extremely sad to see animals treated like this. While it was free for me to go, I will never return to this zoo. I do, however, intend to go to another zoo to see if this is an isolated case.

Kimono Wearing Event

My friends and I were lucky enough to be able to go to a kimono wearing event. There, professionals did our hair and dressed us in the kimonos. They talked about the different parts of the kimono and when certain ones were worn. The final appearance of the kimono is the result of many pieces.Thanks to Wikipedia I have a list for you:

• Dōura (胴裏^?): upper lining on a woman’s kimono.
• Eri (衿^?): collar.
• Fuki: hem guard.
• Furi: sleeve below the armhole.
• Maemigoro (前身頃^?): front main panel, excluding sleeves. The covering portion of the other side of the back, maemigoro is divided into “right maemigoro” and “left maemigoro”.
• Miyatsukuchi: opening under the sleeve.
• Okumi (衽^?): front inside panel situated on the front edge of the left and right, excluding the sleeve of a kimono. Until the collar, down to the bottom of the dress goes, up and down part of the strip of cloth. Have sewn the front body. It is also called “袵”.
• Sode (袖^?): sleeve.^[5]
• Sodeguchi (袖口^?): sleeve opening.
• Sodetsuke (袖付^?): kimono armhole.
• Susomawashi (裾回し^?): lower lining.
• Tamoto (袂^?): sleeve pouch.
• Tomoeri (共衿^?): over-collar (collar protector).
• Uraeri (裏襟^?): inner collar.
• Ushiromigoro (後身頃^?): back main panel, excluding sleeves, covering the back portion. They are basically sewn back-centered and consist of “right ushiromigoro” and “left ushiromigoro”, but for wool fabric, the ushiromigoro consists of one piece.

This list, doesn’t have all the ties that go with it. Counting those, there are many more parts.

A kimono can easily cost thousand and thousands of dollars. Many of them have gold and other metals woven into the fabric. Fortunately, unlike the Japanese, I don’t ever have to purchase one. Kimonos are to be worn at weddings, ceremonies, funerals, celebrations such as the Coming of Age celebration, and at other times. Fortunately for adults, kimonos run on a one size fits all standard, so you don’t ever have to buy a new one. (With the exception of weddings and funerals, as they require different types.) Women do however, have to cut the long sleeves that hang from the arms of kimonos, once they get married.

So obviously I haven’t posted a ton lately, and well that’s because I’ve been doing a lot. I went to the zoo and a kimono event the other day, so I have tons of pictures to show you. They’ll be up soon. Both just require a huge explanation and it’s too late for that. It’s 10:58pm here, 9:58am eastern stand time. I’ll get them up soon I promise!

I forgot to add this to my previous post. Karaoke really is a great, affordable activity to do in Japan. Right now, it’s the number one thing I want to bring back. For 7 hours of Karaoke, it was only about $12 US dollars. I think that’s how much it was for unlimited, we just left after that long. It’s an activity that would be great for college kids, sober, it is a great activity. I think American College Towns need it.

It’s official. I’m addicted to Karaoke. We karaoked for 7 hours yesterday to celebrate Evie’s (the girl with dark brown hair and not Asian) Birthday. It was a blast.