Dojoji - Rite of Passage

All the Noh students and two of the Nihonbuyo students attended Dojo-ji today at the Kanze Kaikan Theater. Once again, the bill included an entire afternoon of performances. At noon, the chorus and musicians entered, and Tamoi-sensei led off the singing. Meyu and I agreed that Tamoi-sensei looked very handsome in his Noh kimono and hakama, and the mai dance was very stirring. The drums and flute really rocked! The Noh play that followed was mostly about the dance not the drama: An envoy from the emperor happens upon a temple where a young boy dances for him. It was a little slow, and I confess that I nodded off a couple times. Ella told me that she watched a whole row of Japanese fall asleep though, so I didn't feel guilty. According to some, falling asleep is part of the experience...hmmm - don't know about that one. Anyway, for those of us taking the Noh class, the chanting and shimai held special interest. Num turned to us after the first one and said,"We really need more practice." I'm going to go over the chant we have to do 1000 times tonight and tomorrow. Oe-sensei and Katayamaa-sensei were part of the chorus for all four shimai. We were scribbling down questions for them as we watched. Whay do some of them have different colored hakama? Why do they hold their fans one way for this song and another way for this chant? At one point, a Noh actor who must have been 90 years old came out to do a shimai. He had trouble getting up from the original squat position. We noted with pride that it was our two sensai from the chorus who steadied him, and he went on with the dance flawlessly from there. I will NOT complain about how hard it is to get up ever again. Tamoi-sensei told us that stuff goes wrong all the time and that we just have to keep going as if nothing was the matter. The mai dancer stood and sent Tamoi-san's fan spinning. Tamoi-san caught it, and then leaned forward to straighten the dancer's hakama. The Dojo-ji actor's hat fell off before it was supposed to, and a koken retrieved it and found a spot in the blocking when they could tie it back on. (A key moment is when the shite knocks the hat from his head with his fan. It's not supposed to come off before then.) The chorus, koken, actors, and musicians are all very supportive of each other, and everyone goes on with the show. The Kyogen play was funny and beautifully timed. It didn't matter that I couldn't understand the words. But Dojo-ji just blew us all away. Four guys carried on a big bell. They unwrapped its rope and threaded it through a pulley using 12-foot poles. Five other guys hoist the bell up supporting each other with their arms wrapped round their partners' waists. The priest told the comic Kyogen-actor servants not to let any women in (See "Passion" August 4 Post) So you know the story, they let in the shirabyoshi dancer, and she does this tortuously intricate step in a snake pattern for 30 minutes. We were riveted. The shoulder drum player lets out a howl like a banshee in agony. The shite angles right and freezes. The howl dies away. The shite is frozen. The drummer 'tocks' the drum. The shite lifts his toes and freezes. The drummer tocks again. The toe drops. The drummer growls like a threateninng wind. The shite's foot slides forward. The drum tocks. The shite lifts toes. Long pause. The drum tocks. The toes drop. I've never heard or seen anything like it. By the end of the angular approach to the bell, my shoulders were in my ears, and I couldn't remember blinking or breathing. Then all hell broke loose! The drums and flute went wild and the shite was flying all over the stage. He slides under the suspended bell, and as he jumps in the air, the koken let the bell drop. If the timing is off one iota, the shite can break his neck in the heavy bell. Thank heavens for the comic relief of the servants trying to pass the buck on who should tell the priest. Everyone relaxed, and the priests went to work with their rosary rattling untill the bell lifted revealing the shite in a demon mask and a costume with a snake scale pattern on it. The ensuing fight is quick and energetic, and the shite's movement is entirely different from the previous dance. Tamoi-sensei sang in the chorus for this performance, and I kept thinking about how he had gone through this rite of passage five years ago. Meyu and I were crying and clapping, and we didn't stop until the last chorus member had exited. Now we know why Tamoi-sensei was so anxious for us to see this performance. This was our rite of passage too.