A Noh theater transformed into a museum! An artistic world where you can grin and ponder on deep themes

A world of art to visit, see and feel
File.10 Yokohama Noh Theatre Special Exhibition: Akira Yamaguchi "Hirunu Shura"
Miyuki Inoue (Magcal Editorial Department)

Akira Yamaguchi, who has been presenting a series of works that fuse traditional Japanese painting styles with modern motifs, will be presenting an installation work at the Yokohama Noh Theatre - this is something you have to go to! That's because Yamaguchi is a handsome contemporary artist who is popular among artsy girls for his humorous style as well as his loose and cool style. What is he planning to do at the Noh Theatre, which could be called the temple of Japanese classics? I was so curious that I went to see it.

This exhibition is in conjunction with the Yokohama Noh Theater's planned performance "Elegance and Impermanence - The World of Shura Noh." In other words, a world of impermanence unfolds while depicting the characters and battle scenes from "The Tale of the Heike."
We passed through the usual lobby and headed to the first floor auditorium. Each seat was decorated with a bow, and looking around, it looked like a "seigaiha" pattern. The sound of flowing water could be faintly heard from behind the stage, evoking the watery world where the Heike clan drowned at Dannoura.

I heard there was an exhibition in the lobby on the first floor, so I went back and found an old grandfather clock hanging in the corner. Is this also an installation?
On stage, you can feel the flow of time through "water," and in the lobby, you can feel the time through the ticking sound. Perhaps it's a way to experience different time axes. Incidentally, the time on the grandfather clock can differ greatly, but this is apparently connected to the space where time flows in parallel - the world of Noh, where the past and present exist in parallel.

When you go up to the second floor, you will see chairs and tables stacked in front of the rest room. This is also, of course, part of the installation.
The party-like table setting in the back room is said to be an image of the "phantom banquet" where "Mimi-nashi Hoichi" was taken by the ghosts of the Heike clan. In other words, the chairs and tables piled up in front are from the real world, that is, the cemetery.

A world that is visible to those who can see, but invisible to those who cannot.

In the glass case where Nohgaku materials are usually displayed, various tools pulled from the Nohgaku Theatre's storage room are displayed as "artworks" along with Yamaguchi's paintings. Noh masks, wig buckets used on stage, clothes racks for displaying costumes, water jugs from the dressing room, and even screws and nails found in a toolbox. Yamaguchi walked all over the Nohgaku Theatre, selecting items and combining them with his own paintings to create the whole exhibition.
Some of the paintings will be incomplete at the time of the opening, but according to the artist, "I plan to complete them on the days the museum is closed." If you visit several times, you may be able to enjoy the "evolution" of the works.

A panel was casually propped up in front of the glass case. It made me wonder if it was still in production, but of course it was part of the installation. The information board was displayed in the glass case with a haughty look on its face, which is typical of modern art.
The theme that runs throughout the film is "the sea" or "waves," and it overlaps with the rise and fall of the Heike clan and the tragedy that struck the Tohoku region.

Do you understand? Don't you understand?

Rather than thinking too hard about it, I think it's best to just feel free and enjoy it.

In the video corner, a video of Yamaguchi himself (?) is playing on repeat.
The title of the work is "Hokke Noh."
I felt that there was a message that artists should convey, and that there were things that only art can do.

This event has ended.
Yokohama Noh Theatre Special Exhibition: Akira Yamaguchi "Daytime Shura"
[Event period] Until Saturday, March 23rd 9:00-20:00
*Closed on February 26th (Tuesday), March 4th (Monday), 5th (Tuesday), and 6th (Wednesday)
[Venue] Yokohama Noh Theatre
[Admission fee] Free *If there are events that require a fee, those without a ticket will not be able to enter.
[Inquiries] Yokohama Noh Theatre Tei. 045-263-3055