You can watch Kyogen for 2,000 yen! ? ~Holiday plan to enjoy traditional performing arts and delicious lunch while walking around Yokohama in spring
Two Kyogen songs with explanations, Mansai Nomura will also appear!
It was the second Sunday in February when the Yokohama Kyogen Theater was held, and although there was a strong north wind, the weather was nice, and the scent of plum blossoms could be smelled everywhere around Momijizaka, where the Yokohama Noh Theater is located.
When I passed through Kambeyama Park and arrived at Yokohama Noh Theater , there were already a lot of people at the entrance! This day's performance featured Kyogen performer and popular actor Mansai Nomura , so tickets were already sold out and the venue was full.
Kyogen “Irumagawa” (Izumi style) Mansai Nomura / Photography: Yoshiaki KandaAt the beginning, there is an explanation that is easy to understand even for beginners.
"Nohgaku" is a combination of Noh and Kyogen, and they are often performed as a set of two, but here is a rough explanation of the differences.
| Noh | Kyogen |
|---|---|
| Fantastic tragedy based on history and mythology | A comedy depicting the joys, anger, sorrows, and joys of ordinary people's daily lives. |
| Noh mask musical with song and dance | A comedy-style skit with blurry gestures and lines. |
| Performance time: approximately 60 minutes or more | Performance time: about 20 minutes, at most 40 minutes |
Kyogen has more content that is easier for beginners to understand than Noh, and the length of each performance is shorter, making it perfect for an introduction to Nohgaku, which is why it is held as a ``popular performance'' at a reasonable price.
On this day, the performances were ``Irumagawa'' and ``Soron,'' and first there was an explanation of what the stories were about.
Kyogen “Irumagawa” (Izumi style) Mansai Nomura / Photography: Yoshiaki Kanda``Iruma River'' is a story about a certain feudal lord who came across the Iruma River (around Saitama Prefecture) on his way back to his country from the capital, but the knowledge of ``Furyusa'' that he had learned in the capital turned out to be a disaster, and he was particular about ``upside down words'', This is a funny story about someone who goes into a river without listening to people stop them, almost drowns, and then they end up having a hard time communicating with each other using ``upside down words.''
