Out and about

A big touring day included a visit to the Handicraft Center, Heian Shrine and Garden, an exhibition of traditional crafts with live and videotaped demonstrations, followed by a walk around Gion! My feet were a mess! The Handicraft Center had 7 floors of shopping ;D Kimono and yukata, damescene jewelry (gold inlay), laquerware, woodblock prints, dolls, swords, pottery, fine china, pearls and countless other items greet one at each level. On the top floor they have a hands-on area where you can make your own wookblock print, origami treasure , etc. A tour bus arrived, out of which exploded 12-15 -year-olds from the USA eastern seaboard. It was like being back at school except I wasn't responsible for them! I retreated to the calm of the Heian shrine through the largest Torii gates imaginable. The gardens were shaded and quiet, and each turn brought a perfect new vista. I loved looking through the frame of a tree branch or a bridge, and I befriended several turtles and a big white carp when I bought some fish food to throw in the water. The Furiaken (sp?) Museum was a delight. The care and skill required to make a pot, a basket, or a fan are extrordinary. The process of each art was explained in detail and one could watch a craftsman wield a brush or chisel for hours. Even the art of making sake was included! I walked to the Gion area where Kyoto is restoring and reviving the old buildings and the geisha arts. Some of the little wood houses have been converted to restaurants, but a couple have the names above the door of the geisha (or geike in Kyoto) and maiko who reside within and their schedules on chalkboards outside. I sat on the bridge where "Memoirs of a Geisha" was filmed.

I posed under the statue of Okuni - the temple maiden who created the art of kabuki by dressing as a man and galvinizing the ukio-e crowds with her 'getting freaky' dance. I recommend the book "Kabuki Dancer" if you want to understand something of the roots of this strange genre.

I need better elbows

Tonight, Tamoi-sensei worked with the students doing Hagoromo while Oe-sensei worked with the 2 who are doing Kagetsu. Hagoromo is the story of a swan-like heavenly being whose feathered robe is stolen by a fisherman. She has to dance a heavenly being dance in order to get it back. Kagetsu is a beautiful boy who dances in front of a temple and charms everybody. Heavenly being or beautiful boy? Well, you can't accuse these Noh masters of type casting, can you? Anyway, it was going SO much better than the last class I had with Tamoi-san, but toward the end of the class, I tired and started to make some mistakes. I did not "let my frustration show in my body." However, I have an elbow issue. My elbows don't go where they are supposed to go or stay where they are supposed to stay. I tell them what I want from them, and they just wander off on their own or take a little break when we're supposed to be working. I think I may last this course, but my elbows may have to be replaced!

3rd class Zen mode

The next class went much better even though it was equally physically taxing. Katayama-san is the consummate teacher. He has re-designed this class to include more performance experience because there are only 4 of us in the class. In his instruction, he combined very exacting attention to our kata (forms of movement), basics about the names for the areas of the noh stage, a little history, and best of all - the spirituality of Noh. We were all touched by his passion for his art and inspired to strive for beauty. He identified all our tension spots and explained how to release that tension without losing the form. He shows the wrong ways to move with such humor and the right ways to move with such clarity! I hope I can bring back some of his style to my students.

Try again

Not such a satisfying Noh class on my part. A blister started to form from doing the sliding step on tatami mats the day before. I made it worse with all the walking to the temple and the theatre. I didn't have as much time as I needed to rest and prepare for class. So the warm-up went fine, but when Tamoi-san started to teach us new material, I made mistake after mistake. My goofs made me flustered, and I made more mistakes. I really have to calm down. I show my emotions far too much for Japanese sensibilities. I'm going to spend a quieter day today and get moleskin to cushion my blister - then practice, practice, practice. Ken reminded me that this is supposed to be fun. I'll try to remember that and inject a little Zen into my work tonight...

To-ji and Kabuki

We got up early this morning to go to the To-ji (ji means temple) flea market. The flea market happens on the 21st of each month, and vendors sell new stuff, old stuff, traditional stuff, and modern stuff. I bought a vintage kimono (Japanese don't usually buy used clothing) for a great price. There were dried fruits, kitchen utensils, scarves, street food, etc. Many people were there to worhip in the temple, and the saffron-clad monks paraded past us and knelt in the temple to pray. Incense filled the air and people were sitting under a tent writing special prayers on wooden cards...... Next we took the subway to the river where many theatres began hundreds of years ago because that land was untaxed. We walked the river bank (where Okuni danced) and saw part of the geisha district. We went to a performance at the Minami-za that had a demonstration beforehand and then did an hour and a half performance of 2 scenes from a play by Chikamatsu. There are different forms of Kabuki male roles: Arogato is the macho man style. Wagoto is gentler, a little comic, a little effeminate. The Wagoto often ends up getting the courtesan for his girlfriend. The wagoto in this play was hard to empathize with at first. He flopped around and whined. I liked the character better in the 2nd act - he seemed more controlled and mature. Later I discovered that it was 2 different actors, which leads me to believe that there may be more individual interpretation in the Kabuki than in other theatre forms.

Noh Class 1

We had Masters Katayama and Tamoi for our first class. We learned the Noh stance (kamae). It's a whole new set of muscles. Yesterday's picture of me on the Noh stage is NOT a good example! Try this: 1) bend over from the waist. 2) Keeping your butt in the same position, straighten the rest of your back. 3) Tuck your chin back to lengthen your back but keep your tush in that same position it was when you bent over. 4) Make a circle with your arms at chest height - palms turned out. Don't bend your wrists. 5) Lower your arms to your sides keeping that circle and turn your palms in. 6) Sort of make fists, but cover your thumbs with the first joint of your forefinger. NOW you are in the kamae stance. Hold it forever. We practiced the suriashi (sliding walk) and also learned 2 ways of turning. Katayama-san said we were better than he expected. Whew! I haven't taken pictures because the class is formal and disciplined. I may ask one of the staff members to take one later.

Noh Kyogen and drums O mai!

We were permitted to tour the stage where we will perform our recital. The wife of the head of the Oe family met us, answered questions and then took us up onstage, into the back dressing rooms and into the galleries. It was inspiring and yet daunting to actually stand at the shite pillar, to sit at the waki pillar and to look out at the audience from the sumi. After returning to school, we had a very hands on and delightful workshop in kyogen, which is akin to commedia but has very strict kata (forms and conventions) that have to be followed. I think it was good preparation for my Noh training. We had an introduction to the shoulder drum and chanting after that and then bid farewell to those who signed up only for the 1st 3 days.