Celebration dinner

We had a special dinner before training begins because about half of the people are only taking the first 3 days of workshops, and the other half are staying on to do the intensive training. We went to a little restaurant where they had a pre-fixe dinner with tons of little bites of sushi, sashimi, tempura, veggies, and noodles that were delicious. The group was very convivial, and we learned a little more about each other. 3 out of the 4 of us in Noh are teachers (Yay!). One woman sells kimono and wanted to learn more about traditional arts to help her be a better salesperson. I'm going to miss her. She's in the lovely kimono above, and is so elegant. One woman is from Brazil and speaks English, Spanish, Japanese, and of course, Portuguese!

More day 2

We had a workshop with the Nihonbuyo teacher today. Nihonbuyo is an umbrella term for a bunch of dance forms. Odori dance is derived from Kabuki and Mai dance is gentler and slower. They call Mai - Kyoto style dance and Odori they refer to as the arigato (rough stuff) Tokyo style. Nihon buyo is also modern dance that draws on both as well as on Noh theatre. We had another incredible space for this workshop. I guess it's sort of a multi-purpose room with risers around a floor as big as a gym. We didn't do much hands-on with this lovely lady - She just taught us how to bow to a teacher, but she showed us an incredible film with clips from 4 versions of the story Dojo-ji (The Temple Bell)-- Noh, Odori, Mai, and her own creation in Nihonbuyo, which was so gorgeous it made me cry. The lighting, her costume, the music, the choreography, the drama, and the stage layout itself all combined to make a very powerful piece. ..... After our bowing lesson we took the subway up to the Kongo Nohgaku Theatre where we saw a beautiful exhibition of masks, fans, and costumes. We weren't allowed to take photos, but the head of the school himself was there and answered questions. It's hard to explain what a big deal it is to meet the head of a Noh family, but believe me when I say that it's a whopping big deal. He was charming in spite of his imposing figure. I asked him if one of the old woman masks was what an actor would use for one of my favorite roles from noh, Sotoba Komachi. He went into the back room to bring out 4 other masks that HE would choose from depending on what aspect of the once beautiful, now old, impoverished, and possessed woman he wished to emphasize. The head of school can interpret a role any way he wants, but others in that school have to follow HIS interpretation. More on this later.

Day 2 July 18

I bought my tabi socks today - the real ones. They are cotton and have metal clips to fasten them at the ankle. Mine are size 23.5 They cost 1000 yen a pair. (Divide by 87 to get $US) We wear them whenever we are going to be working with a teacher as opposed to listening to a lecture. We had two great lectures today. One on the MANY forms of theatre and dance drama in Japan - many of which originated in Kyoto. Why Kyoto? 1)There were/are many temples and shrines here that developed and patronized religious theatre forms; 2) there is a big river, and any entertainments done on the river banks could avoid paying taxes; 3)This was the Imperial City and where one came to be famous.
There are several walking tours of Kyoto that revolve around the theatres or the plays that take place in Kyoto.

Japanese theatre is characterized by stylized, formal conventions (You watch, you do.) Each actor is trained for a lifetime by a master of the art, and bit by bit, the master may disclose his secrets to a favored student - but never to the masses. Training is passed through the generations, and one is born into a family that specailizes in only one type of character. Each genre has its own unique space (you can't do Noh on the Kabuki stage), but the genres all borrow elements from each other. in spite of this borrowing, there is a continuous preservation of the genres from their inception.

Kwanami acted here. Okuni danced here. Chikamatsu wrote here. In many ways they still do.

First day of Class July 17

We have 3 days of orientation workshops that are open to others who don't wish to do the full 3 weeks of training. After a brief history of Traditional Theatre Training we met the Noh masters who will be my teachers during the training session. Master Katayama is the nephew of the head of the Kanze School of Noh, a National Living Treasure. It's like taking a class from a prince! Master Tamoi gave an excellent history and description of Noh and Master Oe demonstrated some techniques. They talked about the power of the stillness of Noh when it is seen in a live performance. I get that. When I saw a Noh play, I felt like I was in a state of meditation. I still carry the image of the production as if it was a composition in a shadow box. Intangible. Inexplicable. I hope to gain enough of an experience through these artists that I can transfer some sort of appreciation of Noh to my own students. Here was the sage advice from Katayama-san: "Appreciate your own lack of understanding. Copy and learn the forms at your best, knowing that you cannot completely understand. Seek out for yourself what you find fascinating in the art."

New friends more Matsuri

I bumped into a lovely Kentuckian family guided by a young Japanese man who used to be a student in Louisville. I asked if I could tag along with them if they were heading to Gion tonight. They were, and I could! Through my Kyoto contact whom I found through Journeywoman.com, I learned how to get a metro/bus/train pass (not JR) and passed along the info to my new friends. The crowds were insane, and who knew that Japanese could be so loud?! It was great to have company to get lost with - although their young son could have done without the miles of walking and Japanese kids touching his blond hair, I think! We saw a huge float all lit up and loaded with men playing bell drums. Gorgeous! We never made it to the Yasaka Shrine for the dragon dance, but we had a ball anyway. I have become very adept at asking in Japanese - where is ___? and apologizing in Japanese that I don't understand Japanese. Tomorrow's goal: Can you please help me? in Japanese.

The Gion Matsuri

What a morning! The Gion matsuri (festival) I believe was established to get Kyoto over a funk it was in due to the plague and to send prayers to the god of the Yasaka Shrine to protect them. It also became a big boost to the economy and is one of the biggest festivals in all Japan. Japanese tourists flock to this area to see the huge wooden floats, exhibits of tapestries and kimono, and to celebrate traditional culture. Many women and some men wear colorful 'yukata' (cotton robe), and museums in the area have special exhibits. It's like a carnival too with games of chance, street food, and kitsch. I'm hoping to buy a couple yukata because the prices can be exceptionally low at some shops. It was the first sunny day this week; so people came out in droves. I lasted 4 hours and then had to get back to the air conditioning. Good timing because the thunder started rumbling and the heavens ope'd after I got back! I'm hoping it will be clear enough to go back tonight for the dragon dance at the Yasaka Shrine.

Good Morning Kyoto!

By the time I got into the MK Taxi that I reserved to take me from the domestic airport in Osaka to Kyoto, it was dark. So I didn't see much last night, but I did have a very 'Bladerunner' feeling about Kyoto at first as my lovely shuttle with my very polite driver passed me to another lovely shuttle with another very polite driver who whisked me through back streets to my hotel. The Palace Side Hotel is a 'business hotel'. Conveniently located, all the necessities, but not luxurious. The nightly price goes down for extended stays; so this is a HUGE bargain at about 5000 yen per night (no more than $60) for my 26 nights! Here are views from my window of almost a Chinese 'hutong' and then the boxy apartments. Kyoto depends on tourism for more than 60% of its economy; so it now has a cap on how tall you can build a building, and it's trying to restore and retain as much of the old buildings as it can. Even the Japanese come here to experience 'true' Japanese culture. I'm going to get out there and experience some of it myself today!