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the能.com probably has pretty much everything you need to get started with Noh drama…

February 25, 2014 By Michael Lambe

Noh masks

I have been following Diego Pellecchia’s facinating Noh blog for a couple of months now. Diego is training with the Kongō school of Noh, here in Kyoto and his blog offers a kind of portal into that world. Wanting to learn more, last week I asked him if he could recommend any beginner’s texts as an introduction to the world of Noh. Rather than a text he recommended this website, and I have to say it’s amazing! Not only do they have a wealth of instructional materials and essays on there, not only do they have performance schedules for all of Japan, not only do they have printable texts of the plays in both English & Japanese (new ones added each month!) which you can bring to performances, not only do they have a database of the masks used in performances, but (!) as I have just discovered, they also have photo-stories. Photo-Stories!
I have to say a big thank you, Diego! the能.com is a treasure!

Noh photostories

See also:
Japanese Noh Theater – An introductory essay by Ian Ropke
Takigi Noh (Noh by Firelight) – An annual June event at Heian Jingu Shrine

Learn More:

The Secrets of Noh Masks
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
Kissing the Mask
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
Japanese No Dramas
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
Five Modern No Plays
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
Noh Masks – The Bernard Le Dauphin Collection
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
The Spirit of Noh
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
A History of Japanese Theater
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
Japanese Plays
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp

The Legend of UrBANGUILD

January 4, 2011 By Michael Lambe

Let me tell you a story, about a place called UrBANGUILD… It’s a kind of fairytale, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. And it all began in another place. A place that I like to call cafe underpants.

The 1928 Building. This art deco fantasy houses a (currently) very popular cafe in the basement. Fans of UrBANGUILD might sense a certain familiarity in the interior design.

Once upon a time there was an honest carpenter named Jiro. One day, Jiro was hired by a man of property to design and build a cafe.  Jiro was a very fine carpenter and designer, and a very hard worker too, and so in no time at all he created a very fine cafe indeed. The owner of the cafe was very pleased with the work that Jiro had done and asked him to manage his new establishment. They called it independants. Under Jiro’s stewardship this cafe independants became a very special place: a place where musicians and artists could meet and freely experiment, and it became a true centre of the Kyoto avant garde! Unfortunately it didn’t make any money… and naturally the owner of the cafe began to worry. Jiro’s passion was for art, not money – but a cafe can’t continue if it doesn’t make a profit! Sadly the owner told Jiro that he had to go. In the real world, that’s just the way things are. Sadly, we just don’t live in fairytales…

ryotaro is the booking manager at UrBANGUILD. He told me this story, so I know it's true.

But then something magical happened. Every single member of staff at cafe independants told Jiro that they wanted to continue working with him. They wanted to recreate the same kind of special artistic centre with him in another place. They pooled all their funds together and they found and built another cafe/bar/performance centre on Kiyamachi. They called it UrBANGUILD (!) and having put all their money into it – well they endured some difficult times! But today, that place, that centre devoted to performance and art and music and the free pursuit of self expression is THRIVING! Well, to be honest, it still doesn’t make much money. Jiro, talented and hardworking carpenter that he is, supports it with his own income. And the staff still work there because they value what they do, not for any misguided notions of profit.

But UrBANGUILD is thriving, because it is ALIVE! Over the last twelve months or so, I have visited and revisited this place and I am ADDICTED. For one thing, I love UrBANGUILD for it’s acceptance.

Something very special indeed - click the image to read more about this one.

You  get some acts here that are mediocre,  others that could be interesting but are a little self-involved, and you get some TERRIBLE acts here too! But they are all accepted – and applauded. And then, pretty much every time, you get something very, very special indeed. Something you simply wouldn’t see anywhere else. Because only a place like UrBANGUILD would allow it to happen.

Another reason I love UrBANGUILD, is the inclusive sense of community. It’s easy to make friends here. Come regularly and some faces will become familiar to you – and you to them. You will become drawn into discussion. You will become part of the scene.

Tomorrow, UrBANGUILD is throwing a New Year’s party entitled “Velvet Moon”. I invite you to attend. There are some Deep Kyoto favorites performing: the dancers Bridget Scott and 袋坂ヤスオ, accordionist ryotaro and the mad scientist of sound mr. Sseeaann Rrooee.

Bridget Scott

And then there are other more intriguing things like Karikatura, a “gypsy, reggae, rumba, flamenco, ska, world, groove, band” from Brooklyn. Here are the details! Check it out! Enjoy!

VELVET MOON!

The Perfomers:

Karikatura (gypsy, reggae, rumba, flamenco, ska, world, groove)

なゆ(dance)

袋坂ヤスオ

Bridget Scott (dance)

Yangjah (dance) with
糸井宏美(映像)
イガキアキコ(たゆたう)
Jerry Gordon

Sseeaann Rrooee (sound artist)

袋坂ヤスオ (dance) & ryotaro (accordion)

OPEN: 18:00 / START: 19:00
Tickets in advance:1500 yen (includes one drink)

I almost forgot to mention, they do good izakaya style grub here too. The vegetarian curry is awesome!

On the door: 2000 yen

at UrBANGUILD

To find it, from Sanjo Dori go down Kiyamachi Dori (this is the narrow street running alongside Takase stream) UrBANGUILD is on the east side (left hand side as you walk down from Sanjo) after approximately 150 metres. It’s on the 3rd floor of New Kyoto Building – access by elevator or stairs. Here’s a map.
Tel: 075-212-1125  Facebook page here.

Japanese Noh Theatre

April 16, 2010 By Michael Lambe

This article contains affiliate links. The owner of this website may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

Performances for the Gods

Ian Ropke writes…

Japanese Noh theatre is one of the oldest dramatic forms in world. The early developments of Noh lie in the festive entertainment of various kinds (dance, simple plays) performed at temples and shrines in the 12th and 13th centuries. Noh drama for much of its history was favored by the samurai, priest and aristocratic classes. Unlike Western theatre, the Noh performer is more a storyteller who suggests the meaning of the play with his movements and through his appearance or costume. Until 100 years ago, the audience was intimately familiar with the plot and the historical or mythological background of the play and knew how to interpret and appreciate symbolic and indirect references to Japanese history, much like early audiences at Shakespeare’s plays.

Noh Actor by Kamisaka Sekka. Click on the image to view available prints.

Nearly all of the Noh plays performed today were written by the start of the 17th century. The vast majority of the core Noh repertoire were written by Kan’ami Kiyotsugu (1333-84) and his son, Zeami Motokiyo (136-1443) in Kyoto. Zeami, as the father of Noh, developed most of the principles upon which Noh theatre has always been based. Today, of the roughly 2,000 Noh texts that are known to exist, only 230 core works are still performed regularly. Today, the Noh world has two centers: Kyoto and Tokyo. [Read more…]

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