A new way to enjoy the night at Dogo Onsen: Traditional Performing Arts in Dogo

This service includes sponsored advertisements.

Dogo Onsen continues to carry on the geisha culture that has been passed down since ancient times. At Yamatoya Main Store, located in the center of Dogo Onsen, a night entertainment event will be held on the Noh stage on the 4th floor of the facility, combining tatami dance with kyogen, Japanese dru...

Written by

Matsuyama City

Matsuyama is home to many fascinating historical buildings, such as Dogo Onsen, known as the oldest hot spring in Japan with a history of over 3,000 years, and Matsuyama Castle, one of the few castles in Japan with 12 surviving castle towers. It is also a city with a rich cultural background, having produced many famous haiku poets and being the setting for Natsume Soseki's "Botchan" and Shiba Ryotaro's "Clouds Above the Hill."

Table of Contents
Dogo, the transmission of Ozashiki culture
Event Schedule
Venue and Access
Omnibus entertaiment: A new way to enjoy traditional performing arts
Experience a new way to enjoy the traditions of Dogo Onsen!

Dogo, the transmission of Ozashiki culture

Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, is said to have had the custom of inviting geisha to entertain guests with parlor entertainment since the Meiji period, when the Dogo Onsen Main Building was built.

At its peak, Dogo Onsen was home to over 1,000 geisha. However, with the disappearance of the restaurants that had been carrying on the ozashiki culture, and the dramatic decline in banquet halls at hotels and inns due to earthquake-resistance renovations and rebuilding of long-established inns, the number of places to enjoy ozashiki culture has been decreasing even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to continue the traditional Dogo parlor entertainment in modern times, a night entertainment called "Blooming Traditional Arts!! Dogo Night Moments" was created, combining traditional dance with Kyogen, Japanese drums, and period drama dance. The performers are active entertainers in Matsuyama City, and they aim to create new ways to enjoy traditional culture in a modern setting and to pass on local culture.

Event Schedule

"Blooming Traditional Performing Arts!! Dogo Night Moments" will be held for the following 5 days. On each date, the doors open at 19:30 and the performance will run for 70 minutes from 20:00 to 21:10. It is a luxurious program where you can enjoy four traditional Japanese performing arts in an omnibus format: Kyogen, Ozashiki Buyo, Wadaiko, and Jidaigeki Buyo.

①9/29(Sun) ②10/11(Fri) ③10/13(Sun) ④10/26(Sat) ⑤12/22(Sun)

Reservation

Venue and Access

The venue, Yamatoya Honten, is located in the heart of the Dogo area, right next to the Dogo Onsen Main Building, which just completed a large-scale preservation and repair project lasting five and a half years in July 2024.

Dogo Onsen Main Building

5-6 Dogoyunomachi, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture 790-0842

Yamatoya Honten is a long-established inn that was founded in 1868 (1868). It was rebuilt and reopened in 1996, and welcomes tourists with modern hospitality while preserving the traditions unique to a long-established inn. On the fourth floor of Yamatoya Honten, there is a separate outdoor Noh stage called Senjuden, which is built in the Japanese architectural style. The Noh stage, with its graceful exterior made entirely of cypress, will be the venue for events.

Omnibus entertaiment: A new way to enjoy traditional performing arts

"Blooming Traditional Performing Arts!! A Night in Dogo" is an omnibus of performances in four different genres, so that even those who do not usually have a chance to experience traditional Japanese performing arts can enjoy it.

① Kyogen

The performance will feature "Kiyomizu," a representative piece of the traditional Japanese performing art of Kyogen.

Kyogen is a traditional performing art unique to Japan that was established along with Noh during the Muromachi period about 600 years ago. Kyogen is a realistic and comical dialogue drama centered on dialogue and gestures. It expresses the subtleties of everyday life emotions that ordinary people have through sophisticated laughter, in the midst of everyday matters.

②Ozashiki dance and ozashiki games

Geishas who have inherited the geisha culture of Dogo Onsen will perform ozashiki dances and ozashiki games that are played in ozashiki. Yakyuken, a classic ozashiki game, actually originated in Matsuyama. Yakyuken is a game in which the geisha dance to light music, and the customer imitates the choreography and dances along with them, playing rock-paper-scissors to decide the winner, and if they lose, they have to drink a cup of sake, which is called "basshu" (punishment).

③ Japanese drums

Enjoy a powerful Japanese drumming performance by a group based in Ebara, Matsuyama City, made up of people who love the arts, including drums, flutes, singing, dancing, and festivals.

④Period Theatre Dance

The performer, who learned Japanese dance from a young age and entered the world of popular theater at the age of 18, will perform a modern adaptation of Japanese dance.

Event Video

Experience a new way to enjoy the traditions of Dogo Onsen!

"Blooming Traditional Performing Arts!! Dogo Night Moments" was created to allow modern tourists to enjoy the geisha culture that has been passed down in Dogo Onsen. If you visit Dogo Onsen, be sure to try it out!

Written by

Matsuyama City

Ehime

The information presented in this article is based on the time it was written. Note that there may be changes in the merchandise, services, and prices that have occurred after this article was published. Please contact the facility or facilities in this article directly before visiting. Some of our articles contain affiliate links. We kindly ask our readers to exercise careful judgement when making a purchase or booking a service online.

The contents on this page may partially contain automatic translation.