Regular Performance -Hosho school-
(Noh performance / Hosho school)
Sat. Jun. 8, 2024
13:00 <1st show>
16:30 <2nd show>
1st show
Kyogen"FUNE FUNA"(A Pronunciation Problem)
main performer:Tojiro Yamamoto
★story★
The Master calls Taro Kaja to accompany him on an outing,and they decide to go to Nishinomiya.On the way they come to a river whichi they must cross by boat.Taro Kaja calls for a boat using the word funa(the work for boat is fune,but in compound words suchi as funabito,meaning boatman,the ending e changes to a).The Master scolds him saying that the proper word is fune.Taro Kaja,whose knowledge of poetry is well known,says that he knows many poems in which the word funa is used,but none which use the word fune.They compete with poems.The Master uses the same poem at different speeds and with different inflections since he is not well versed in poetry.When Taro Kaja objects the Master says he knows a song that uses fune.He sings his song till he comes to a place where funa is also used and says he has forgotten the rest of it.Taro Kaja finishes it gleefully,and the Master chides him saying,"You could let your Master win an argument once ina a while,don't you think?"
Noh"TAMA-NO-I"(The Jewelled Well)
main performer:Kazufusa Hosho
★story★
As the god Hodemi has angered his elder brother bya borrowing his fishing-hook and the allowing it to be carried away by a fish,he goes down into the sea ina an effort to retrieve it.He is standing beneath a tree surveying the scene when two princesses come to a beautiful well nearby to draw water.They take him to the palace of their father,the dragon-king,who entertains him hospitably for three years and the,on his return,presents him with the hook he was seeking.The princesses each give him a magnificent jewel and, after he has been entertained with dancing,take him to the shore onthe back of a huge fish.
2st show
Kyogen"ONIGAWARA "(The Demon-Faced Tile)
main performer:Tojiro Yamamoto
★story★
A Daimyo who has been in the capital on business for a long time,has just received permission to return home,and is very happy.He calls Taro Kaja and tells him the news.Taro Kaja suggests that they go pay their respects at the temple before they leave.
The Daimyo wants to build a similar temple at home,so he and Taro Kaja take special note of how the temple is constructed so they can tell the carpenters exactly what they want.They are looking at the outside of the temple when suddenly the Daimyo begins weeping.Taro Kaja asks him what the matter is,and he points to the demon-faced end tile(similar to the gargoyles on the roofs of medieval cathedrals),and says that the face reminds him of his wife and has made him homesick.He points out how each horrible feature is exactly the same as his wife's becoming more and more maudlin.Finally Taro Kaja reminds him that they will soon be going home,and he will be able to see his wife,so there is no reason to carry on so.The Daimyo agrees that he should be laughing instead of crying,invites Taro Kaja to laugh with him,and the go off together laughing hearitily.
Noh"RO-TAIKO"(The Prison Drum)
main performer:Takashi Takeda
★story★
The lord of Matsura has thrown Seiji,one of his retainers,into prison for killing sameone in an argument,but now learns from a servant that the prisoner has escaped.He therefore imprisons Seiji's wife instead,but she refuses to disclose the where abouts of the escaped man.Eventually her mind becomes unbalanced from lobe of the husband she can no longer see,and she strikes the drum hanging on the prison wall and dances in her madness.Seeing this,the lord takes pity on her,and releases her with a pardon for her husband.Her mind clears as her troubles disapper and she goes off happily to rejoin her husband.
commentary in Japanese: Naoki Kaneko(both show)