Regular Noh in June - Hosho School - Shibuya Cerulean Tower Noh Theatre

Saturday, June 7, 2025

The first part is the Noh performance of "Kurozuka Shiratou" by the head of the school, Kongo Eikin. Yamabushi Yukie and his group ask for lodging at a house in the fields of Adachigahara, and the woman who owns the house finally gives in to their repeated pleas and lets the mountain monks in. The woman demonstrates spinning threads and sings songs in various tones, but as the night deepens and it gets colder, she says she is going to gather firewood from the mountain and leaves, emphasizing that no one should look into her bedroom. Yukie's attendant sneaks into the bedroom and sees countless dead bodies. The mountain monks run away, but the woman, who has transformed into a demon, attacks the group, intending to eat them, in resentment for breaking her promise, but Yukie and his friends pray earnestly, and the demon woman is finally subdued and leaves into the night storm. The second part is the Noh performance of "Kagetsu" by Toyoshima Yazaemon, a leading figure in the school. A father who became a monk in search of his missing son eventually meets a boy named Kagetsu in front of the gates of Kiyomizu-dera Temple and realizes that he is his son. Father and son are happy to be reunited, and Kagetsu performs a dance before accompanying his father to begin Buddhist training. This is a dramatic story of a father and son reunion, but it is also a well-paced work that can be enjoyed from start to finish, featuring a short popular song of the time, a bow and arrow dance, a kumamon (a traditional Japanese dance), a kakko (a traditional Japanese drum) dance, and a tour of Kiri Mountain. The kyogen plays are "Ukon Sakon" and "Bunzo" from the Okura school. An explanation of the play is given at the beginning of each part.

Part 1: Kyogen "Hinosake" Taro Kayasu: Noritaka Yamamoto Master: Noriyoshi Yamamoto Kayasu: Norihide Yamamoto Guardian: Takashi Wakamatsu

Noh play "Yorimasa" Old man/Yorimasa: Takashi Takeda Traveling monk: Tsunezo Hosho Jinrijin: Tojiro Higashi Flute: Ryuichi Onodera Small drum: Yotaro Uzawa Large drum: Mitsuo Yasufuku Guardian: Kimio Otsubo, Kentaro Ogura Jito: Satoshi Nozuki

Part 2: "Hideku Umbrella" Daimyo: Tojiro Higashi Crowned: Rintaro Yamamoto Newcomer: Norishige Yamamoto Guardian: Takayoshi Wakamatsu "Hagoromo Banwatari" Heavenly Being: Kazuhide Hosho Fisherman White Dragon: Tsunezo Hosho Fisherman: Aoi Watanabe Fisherman: Kobayashi Kobayashi Flute: Shintaro Sugi Small Drum: Yotaro Uzawa Large Drum: Jun Kunikawa Taiko: Masato Kodera Guardian: Satoshi Nozuki, Mizukami Jito: Asakura Asakura

Commentary: Naoki Kaneko (both parts)

Ticket Information

Fee

S seats (front) ¥10,000

A seat (front side) ¥8,000

B Seat (center front) ¥6,000

*The price is for each performance. *Student tickets are only available at the Noh Theatre. Please show your student ID when purchasing. *Preschool children are not allowed to enter.

Purchase tickets here