A votive kyogen performance at a place where summer ends and autumn begins

A stage for Kyogen performers living in the 21st century
Vol.4 Kyogen performance at the place where summer ends and autumn begins
Ozo doctrine (Noh performer Kyogen style Ozo school)

It felt like the temperature had dropped significantly since the start of October, but the heat returned on October 6th after a long time. Today was the day of the votive kyogen performance at Nakanojima Inari Shrine.
As we turned the corner, we could hear the sound of festival music. The approach to the shrine was bustling with stalls, and the excitement was enough to make us loosen our purse strings a little. Although there was no need to worry about a typhoon, the wind was a little strong, and one long-time member of the support group commented that "this is the first time we've seen such strong winds."
I moved here seven years ago, and the following year I started a Kyogen class at the community center run by the neighborhood association.

When my child was born, I made my first pilgrimage to the local shrine and connected with the chief priest. I immediately told him, "I'd like to perform a Kyogen performance at this Kagura hall," and he readily agreed. The chief priest also brought and connected me with members of the support group to a "Kyogen performance in a tatami room" that I organized, and the support group members were also eager to perform Kyogen at the shrine. I feel that it's a strange fate that various events have come together at the same time.
This year marks the sixth time the event has been held. The students all worked together to make the pine curtain that hangs behind the stage, the stage set modeled after a Noh theater, and the programs that were distributed to the audience. The audience seats were covered in traditional straw mats. The performance began in an indescribably faint atmosphere, as if announcing the end of summer.
This was the first time that all 13 students tried singing kouta songs together. The "Kyogen Kouta Collection," a collection of various kouta songs that appear in Kyogen plays, was a very satisfying and powerful performance, with the students' emotions and voices coming together. Each performer also shone brilliantly in the other performances, drawing laughter from the audience. Even as the trees rustled loudly in the occasional gusts of wind, the students' voices must have reached many people.

In this class, the students themselves are the main characters, and I believe I am merely in a supporting role. We live in a world where it is difficult to live true to yourself, but the world of Kyogen affirms you as you are. The sight of the students performing with such liveliness is truly beautiful. The hour flew by, but I'm sure the gods were pleased by the students' enthusiasm and the laughter of the audience.
The ceremony ends on a happy note with a congratulatory song, with the hope that daily life will be enriched even just a little.