Videos about Noh and Kyogen on Mt. Oyama

With English subtitles, available only until March 31, 2022

For those of you have joined me on Mt. Oyama for outdoor Noh performances, and also for those who haven’t, here are links to newly created videos with English subtitles about last fall’s event, in October 2021. The camera gets closer to the performers than we could, so even if you were there these videos are worth watching. You’ll gain a different perspective, for sure.

For copyright reasons, these videos will only be available through the end of March (2022), so please watch them while you can. 

This first video (5 minutes) is a digest of the talk given on site by Prof. Keizō Miyamoto of the Center for International and Interdisciplinary Research on Noh Theatre, briefly explaining the history of Noh on Oyama. You’ll see some of the masks and costumes preserved in Oyama that were on display, as well as, in the background, the Oyama pilgrimage quilt we had made from the pilgrim’s wear traditionally worn in the Oyama pilgrimage. There was no English interpretation during Prof. Miyamoto’s talk but there are English subtitles on the video, which really helps. 

The second video (34 minutes) is a digest of all the performances on Oct. 5 and 6, 2021, opening with a cute medley of the performances by children.  You’ll see excerpts of the Hitori Okina, a sacred rite in which the actors perform divine figures who dance for peace, prosperity, and safety across the land performed by Yamashina Yaemon ( a Living National Treasure); the Afuri Shrine Kagura Dance, a Shinto ritual dance for the gods performed by shrine maidens; the Kyogen “Hagi Daimyo” (The Bush Clover Lord), comical theater performed by Yamamoto Tōjirō (another Living National Treasure); the Noh play Takasago, with lead roles played by Kanze Kiyokazu, the 26th hereditary head of the Kanze School of Noh, and his son, Kanze Saburōta. Also, a short segment from the Kyogen “Fumiyamadachi” (The Poetic Bandits) and the Noh play Kurama Tengu (The Goblin of Kurama). The lead role was performed by Yamashina Yaemon, a Living National Treasure. 

 

Enjoy! We hope to see you in Oyama for the Fire Festival and Takigi Noh performances this fall, dates to be announced soon (but always weekdays in early October).

 

 

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