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The Japan-India Traditional Performing Arts Exchange Project
2004
Noh and Kutiyattam – “Treasures of
World Cultural Heritage”
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The
First meeting of artists in Kerala
The
First Ever Performance of Noh in Kerala
The Fourth Performance of
Kamigata-mai
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Sponsored by the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government, The Japan
Foundation and the Government of the State of Kerala.
Supported by the Embassy of India in Japan and the Indo-Japanese
Association
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Date:
Venues:
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December 26, 2004 – January 4,
2005
Kuthambalam in Vyloppilly
Samskrithi Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)
[Noh] [Kutiyattam]
[Kamigata-mai]
Rangaprabhat Children’s Theatre, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) [Kamigata-Mai]
Kerala
Kalamandalam Cheruturuthy [Kamigata-Mai]
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Noh (Japan)
and Kutiyattam (India)
have been declared “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of
Humanity” by the UNESCO in 2001.
The Japan-India Traditional Arts Exchange Project
2004 therefore initiates the first meeting of actors of these art forms as
well as the first ever performance of Noh in Kerala while continuing the
presentation of the traditional Japanese solo dance form ‘kamigata-mai’ with
a fourth performance.
Basic
Schedule
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The First Meeting of Noh and Kutiyattam Actors in Kerala –
Kutiyattam performance
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Dec.26:
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10.00
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am
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Meeting with Kutiyattam artists from Natana Kairali und Ammannur
Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulam, Irinjalakuda, Kerala
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Reception to the Japanese delegation of Noh & Kamigata-mai
group (special invitees)
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Kutiyattam: Lecture-demonstration
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Lunch
break
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05.30
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pm
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Kutiyattam
performance: “Vikramorvaseeyam” by Kalidas
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Venue:
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Vyloppilly
Samskrithi Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)
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Noh Performance
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Dec.27:
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09.30
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am
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Inauguration of the Japanese program by the Minister of
Tourism and Devasoms
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10.00
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am
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Noh: Lecture-demonstration
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07.00
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pm
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Noh
performance: “Hagoromo”
by Zeami
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Dec.28:
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10.00
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am
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Interaction with Noh artists
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Lunch break
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Farewell to the Noh artists
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Venue:
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Vyloppilly
Samskrithi Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)
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Kamigata-mai Performances
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Dec.29:
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10.00
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am
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Kamigata-mai:
Lecture-demonstration
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07.00
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pm
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Kamigata-mai
performance: [YASHIMA] “Yashima” – [YUKI] “Snow”
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Venue:
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Vyloppilly
Samskrithi Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)
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Kamigata-mai Workshop
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Dec.30:
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Inauguration - Workshop
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Dec.31:
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Workshop
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Jan.01:
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Workshop - Performance
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Jan.02:
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Workshop
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Venue:
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Rangaprabhat
Children’s Theatre, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)
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One
of the pieces in the former (3rd) performance of Kamigata-mai in Kerala was
“The Marriage Procession of the Foxes.” In Japan, when it starts raining
while the sun is still shining, people say that the foxes must be having a
marriage procession. We learned that the same thing is also said in India.
In this workshop, we will produce a translation of the text of “The Marriage
Procession of the Foxes” in the Malayalam language; then we will create a new
dance for children that incorporates some of the methods of Kamigata-mai. At
the end of the workshop, the children will perform this new work.
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Jan.03:
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Kamigata-mai
performance:
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Venue:
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Not
yet decided [Thrissur or Ernakulam district]
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Jan.04:
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Kamigata-mai:
Lecture-demonstration
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Kamigata-mai
performance:
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Venue:
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Kerala
Kalamandalam, Cheruturuthy, tentative [Thrissur]
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Cast & Staff Lists
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Noh: “Hagoromo” (The Feather Robe)
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Performers
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Shite (Celestial Maiden)
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Norinaga Umewaka
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Waki (Fisherman)
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Dai Murase
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Jiutai (Chorus)
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Haruhiko Hasegawa, Tatsuya
Hatta, Yoshiaki Ito, Shingo Kato (leader),
Tomoya Komuro, Masahiro
Nakamura, Osamu Toda, Hisaki Umewaka
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Koken (Stage Assistants)
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Ken’ichi Aoki, Yasushi Umewaka
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Hayashi-kata (Musicians)
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Kotsuzumi(Shoulder drum)
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Kensaku Araki
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Ohtsuzumi (Hip drum)
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Eitaro Okura
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Taiko (Stick drum)
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Hideki Kajitani
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Fue (Japanese Flute)
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Yusuke Kuribayashi
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Staff
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Stage Manager
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Keiji Osakabe
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Commentator/Interpreter
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Stephen Comee
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Kutiyattam:
“Vikramorvasheeyam” by Mahakavi Kalidas, directed and choreographed by G. Venu
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Performers
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Sutradhara
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Ammanur Rajaneesh Chakyar
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Pururavas
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Soraj Nambiar
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Urvashi
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Kapila Nangiar
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Mizhavu
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Kalamandalam Rajeev
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Kalamandalam Hariharan
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Kalamandalam Narayanan Nambiar
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Edakka
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Kalanilayam Unnikrishnan
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Talam
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Nirmala Panicker
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Aparna Nangiar
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Make-up
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Kalanilayam Haridas
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Troupe
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Natana Kairali and Ammanur
Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulum
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Kamigata-mai: Jiuta “YASHIMA”(Yashima), Jiuta “YUKI”
(Snow)
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Performers
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Dancer
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Kei’in Yoshimura
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Chanter/Shamisen
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Masae
Yoshizawa
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Kokyu
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So Sugiura
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Commentator
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Yukitoshi Morishige
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Staff
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Dresser
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Yasuko Tomita
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Video/Interpreter
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Mikio Shimamura
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Stage technicians
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Kinji Dogu, Eiichi Horibata
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Business manager
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Masahiko Kunihiro
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Produced by Kamigatamaitomonokai,
Tokyo.JAPAN
http://www.kamigatamaitomonokai.org/
Coordinated by Ravi Gopalan NAIR,
KERALA, INDIA
The
1st Noh Performance in Kerala
About Noh
Drama
Noh is a classical Japanese
performance art that combines elements of dance, drama, music, and poetry
into one highly aesthetic stage art. Refined into the aesthetic art we know
in the 14th and 15th centuries, it is performed throughout the country by
professional artists, who have passed down the art among family members for
numerous generations. The Umewaka Kennokai troupe is one such group, and it
boasts a 700-year lineage of actors from ancient times. The main actor of
this performance, Norinaga Umewaka, is the eldest son of the current head of
the troupe, Manzaburo Umewaka III.
Synopsis of the Play
Noh: Hagoromo
(“The Feather Robe”)
Once upon a time, a
fisherman named Hakuryo found a beautiful feather robe (hagoromo)
hanging on a pine tree along a beach near Mt.
Fuji.
When he took it and was about to take it home as a family treasure, a
heavenly maiden appeared. Saying it was hers, she asked him to return it to
her, explaining that she was unable to fly back to heaven without it. Hakuryo
refused, and the heavenly maiden cried out in despair. Finally, the fisherman
said, "I'll return it to you if you show me the celestial dance of the
heavenly maidens." She agreed, and after he returned the robe to her,
she performed the dance of the heavenly maidens and then flew back to heaven.
The piece beautifully portrays the dilemma of the heavenly maiden. When the
fisherman says that if he gives the robe back, she will fly back to heaven
without dancing for him, she softly replies that deceit is unknown in heaven,
and only exists in the hearts of men. As performed by Noh master Umewaka, the
Dance of the Heavenly Maidens is so beautifully portrayed that one feels as
though an angel is actually dancing upon the stage.
Kutiyattam
About
Kutiyattam
Kutiyattam is the oldest
surviving Sansktir theatre tradition of India. This unique art form of
Kerala has a highly stylized and complex theatre language replete with
traditional hand gestures and facial expressions.
Synopsis of the Play
KUTIYATTAM: Vikromorvasheeyam
The celestial dancer, Urvashi
and her friend Chitralekha are kidnapped by the demon, Kesi. King Puruvas
saves them and Urvashi falls in love with him. Soon after, while performing
for the Gods, Urvashi utters her lover’s name instead of ‘Vishnu’. Enraged,
Sage Bharatha curses her that she no longer can stay on in Heaven.
The performance ends with
the king yearning for Urvashi and finaly meeting her.
The 4th
Kamigata-mai Performance
About
Kamigata-mai
Drawing on 12th-century
traditions established by courtesan dancers and singers at banquets in Kyoto, and based on the
dancing traditions of Noh, Kabuki, and the Bunraku puppet theatre,
Kamigata-mai was born and developed in the 16th century in the Kamigata area
of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. Kamigata-mai is
also called jiuta-mai, because it is performed to the accompaniment of
jiuta (popular song sung by the Kamigata people), the oldest form of
shamisen music.
While Noh, Kyogen, and Bunraku are performed by males, Kamigata-mai was
developed mainly as a chamber art and was performed by courtesans in small
rooms to entertain special guests. As a chamber art, Kamigata-mai exhibits a
sharp contrast to world-famous Kabuki dances, which are put on in large
theatres to the accompaniment of nagauta orchestral music.
Whereas Kabuki dances are more animated, vigorous and sometimes even
boisterous, Kamigata-mai is performed in a subdued, tranquil, and more
dignified way, giving major importance to the external expression of one’s
innermost sentiments.
Synopses of the Dances
Jiuta “YASHIMA”
(Yashima)
(about 15 min)
The dance is
based upon the Noh play also titled Yashima. In it a single dancer
tries to capture the essence of the ancient battle that took place at
Yashima.
One spring day, a traveling priest visits the site of the old battle at
Yashima located next to a beautiful beach with the crystal blue sea on one
side and rising mountains on the other. It was here that the Heike and Genji
clans fought for supremacy.
The story unfolds with the priest meeting the ghost of the Genji general,
Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who recounts his battles with the enemy warriors. All
through the night, he narrates of his great courage and bravery in the battle
and his finally victory over his foes, and as the day dawns the ghost fades
away.
Among Kamigata-mai, it is one of the most strenuous and active dance
performances.
Jiuta
“YUKI” (Snow)
(about 20 min.)
Yuki is one of
the most popular jiuta dances.
It depicts the tranquil mind of a nun and her sad psyche before becoming a
nun.
The text tells the story of a Buddhist nun who has lived in a nunnery, apart
from the world, ever since she was disappointed being in love while she was a
young courtesan.
The piece beautifully depicts the serenity of the mind of the woman, as the
tolling of a temple bell in the snow reminds her of her past sorrows.
The instrumental interlude (ai-no-te) is used here to express the
quiet tolling of a distant temple bell on a snowy evening and has become so
popular that its melancholic melody is often used in other dances as a kind
of theme to suggest a snowy scene or the call for a cold, dark atmosphere.
Tokyo, November 29, 2004
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