NOH and KYOGEN
portrayal of the egret requires a special kind of footwork not seen in any other work, making this a rare and significant experience. Nomura, looking trim in grey hakama with silver fan in hand, was born in 1936. Despite the perhaps inevitable loss of physical agility, still he uses the strength of his core to stand firmly on one leg, and gives his all to the dance. In this figure, spreading wide its wings to fly for freedom, there was a natural expression of both the distress in which humanity finds itself, and its liberation from that state. It was a dance imbued with deep prayer from one of the elders of the Noh world.
Riches in Kyogen 042
In recent years there has been a noticeable vitality in Kyogen. In addition to the evolving artistry of three Living National Treasures, it is heartening to see that promising successors are emerging among veterans, mid-career, and early-career performers in each school. Bringing together young Kyogen performers from across the country and from different styles and schools, the “6th Kyogen Contest: 8 Rounds Starring Taro Kaja” (February 15, National Noh Theatre) facilitated in turns by Okura Yataro and Nomura Matasaburo, was a new project showcasing eight numbers featuring the highly popular Noh character of Taro Kaja (the head apprentice). The various guises of the hardworking, opportunistic, and sly Taro Kaja were vividly portrayed, and creativity was seen in the programming of the rarely performed piece Naginata Ashirai (Counter Parry) and Mizu Kikazu (The Unseeing and Unhearing), which features characters with disabilities.