``Kanagawari Classics 2016 in Odawara'' will be held on September 19th (holiday)

<Overview>
"Kanagawari Classics 2016 in Odawara"
 
Date : September 19, 2016 (holiday)
Part 1 12:30 Open / 13:00 Start
・Enshu Iida Yamana Shrine Gion Festival performing arts (nationally designated important intangible cultural property)
・Rakugo by Sanzo Yanagiya
・Odawara Music (Odawara City Prefectural Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
・Kashima Dance at Terayama Shrine (Odawara City Prefecture Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
・Hakone Yudate Shishimai (Hakone-machi national selection/prefecture-designated intangible folk cultural property)
・Outdoor selling research group
Part 2 Doors open at 18:00/Start at 18:30/End at 21:00
・Koichi Makigami performance (FOOD with Arzhan Suu)
・Hosho-ryu Takigi Noh Noh “Yato Soga”, Kyogen “Bunzo”
 
Venue : Odawara Castle Ruins Park Honmaru Square special stage
6-1 Jonai, Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture
*In case of stormy weather, the event will be held at the Odawara Civic Center Hall.
 
Fee : 1st free
Part 2 Advance ticket 3,000 yen / Same-day ticket 3,500 yen (Limited to 1,000 seats, all non-reserved seats)
*Please see here ( http://re-coten2016.com/?page_id=5 ) for the advance ticket sales office.

Delivering authentic traditional performing arts leads to the revival of classics

――FM Odawara is preparing for this year's "Re-classical" project. Please tell us how that happened.
 
Suzuki : FM Odawara is a community FM broadcasting station that started ten years ago. Broadcasting stations gather a variety of local information. In order to disseminate it not only on radio but also in a wide range of ways, in recent years we have also started to undertake local event projects. In addition, we launched the Odawara Citrus Club for regional development, selling local cider and Odawara mandarin flower honey. While I was doing urban development and regional revitalization through these activities, I was entrusted with this year's "Re-classical" project.
 
――"Re-classical" is a project to disseminate the traditional culture of Kanagawa Prefecture in a new form. Mr. Suzuki, how do you perceive "re-classical"?
 
Suzuki : I've always wondered what "re" (= rebirth) is. I think there are various ways of expression, such as collaborating traditional performing arts and modern dance, but I have doubts about whether it will really take hold. As a result of thinking about it, I thought that presenting authentic traditional performing arts in the present age and showing them to young people is itself a revival. Therefore, in this "Re-classical", I would like to dig up traditional culture and show it in its original form without overdoing it.
 
――However, it also feels new.
 
Suzuki : We are also promoting collaborations, with Robert Harris, who is active as a DJ, serving as the overall MC, and Koichi Makigami (musician) performing. However, I think that performing Takigi Noh at Odawara Castle itself is a “re”. Actually, Takigi Noh was held at Odawara Castle until 2009, but it has been suspended since then. There were a lot of voices asking for a revival, so I decided to try again.
 
However, at that time it was the Kanze school, but this year I asked the Hosho school. When I checked old literature with people from the Cultural Property Division of Odawara City, I learned that the Hosho school had exchanges with Mr. Hojo. In that case, I thought that I would like to ask the Hosho school to perform "Yato Soga", which is related to Odawara.
 

Takigi Noh performed in 2004 (Provided by Odawara Digital Archive)

――What kind of program is the Kyogen play “Bunzo”?
 
Suzuki : This is a program related to the Battle of Ishibashiyama in "Genpei Seisuiki". In Odawara, there is Mt. Ishibashi where Minamoto no Yoritomo raised an army, Sanada Reisha Shrine, which enshrines Sanada Yoshitada, who took the lead in this battle and died, and Bunsando, which enshrines his vassals, also remain. Actually, I was born in Ishibashi too. From a chat that "There was Bunsando," we started talking about discovering a program related to Odawara.
 
--It's really community-based.
 
Suzuki : Many of the performers are also related to Odawara. Originally, I belonged to the Noh song club at Odawara High School. After graduating, he became a bandman, and later worked as a music producer. However, 10 years ago, I decided that now was the time to change jobs, so I decided to come back to Odawara. During my days as a music producer at Odawara High School, I was able to reach out to various people.
 
――For example, what kind of person would it be?
 
Suzuki : Koichi Makigami, who is working with me on directing, is also a senior at Odawara High School. Sanzo Yanagiya, a rakugo storyteller who appears in the first part, also graduated from Odawara High School. Robert Harris, the general moderator, is also from Yokohama.
 
――There is also something unexpected about Hikashu's Koichi Makigami appearing.
 
Suzuki : You will not be directly involved in Takigi Noh, but will perform on the Noh stage. I plan to play shakuhachi and theremin on stage. There is a traditional craft of Odawara casting called Odawara wind chime, and I heard that it will be incorporated into the performance. In addition, FOOD (an avant-garde jazz unit consisting of British saxophonist Ian Baramy and Norwegian drummer Thomas Straenen) will also perform together. It is very rare for them to appear on a Noh stage, and it sounds interesting.

A Circle of Traditional Culture Expanding from “Re-Classics”

――So, I would like to ask about the first part of the program. Admission is free, but there are plenty of rakugo performances by Mr. Sanzo Yanagiya, the performing arts of Enshu Iida Yamana Shrine Gion Festival, and Odawara music.
 
Suzuki : We will also perform the Kashima dance of Terayama Shrine, the Yudate lion dance of Hakone, and the Uirouri performance. These traditional performing arts are often presented in halls, so the general public rarely has the opportunity to see them. Now that Odawara Castle has finished its renovations, the number of tourists is increasing. And admission is free. Some people may come just to see Mr. Sanzo Yanagiya, so I thought I'd use Mr. Sanzo as a starting point to see traditional performing arts (laughs). And I will ask Robert Harris to play around with it (laughs).
 

――The Enshu Iida Yamana Shrine Gion Festival is a performing art of Shizuoka Prefecture, isn't it? Why did you add this to the program?
 
Suzuki : Actually, this one is also related to Odawara. In Odawara, there is Uiro Co., Ltd., a company founded 650 years ago by the Uiro family. Uiro is what we now call a pharmacy. They came to Japan from China in the 1300s, settled in Hakata, and then moved to Kyoto. At the Gion Festival, there is a yamaboko with a praying mantis on it called "Tourouyama", and it was made by the Uiro family. It seems that there was a base near Honnoji Temple, and it seems that Nobunaga Oda became Uiro (laughs).
 
After that, the Uiro family was called by Soun Hojo and moved to Odawara. Dances are still performed at the Gion Festival at Yamana Shrine, but they have never been performed in Odawara. If so, I would like to take this opportunity to ask you.
 
――The location of Odawara Castle Ruins Park is also attractive.
 
Suzuki : After the renovation, we are actively holding events in this area. About 4,000 people visit on Saturdays and Sundays, so it's quite lively. I once held a wedding ceremony in front of Odawara Castle.
 

――Mr. Suzuki, did you make any new discoveries by being involved in this “re-classical” project?
 
Suzuki : It was a series of discoveries. It was through this project that I first learned about the Kyogen play "Bunzo." In addition, when looking at history, I also felt the difficulty of deciding where to cut it. Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked Odawara Castle and destroyed the Hojo clan. In that case, only the Uiro family remains from the Hojo era. Moreover, the Odawara Castle that Hideyoshi attacked was not the current location, but a mountain castle near Odawara High School. When I was a kid, I wasn't taught that (laughs). I felt that I could see various things when I traced history.
 
――What kind of collaboration system do you have with the prefecture?
 
Suzuki : The Kashima dance of Terayama Shrine is still alive not only in Odawara, but also in Shizuoka. In the future, I would like to cooperate with the prefecture to connect the traditional culture that has been disjointed. As a joint project with the prefecture, I would like to consider how to bring out the intangible folk cultural properties of the prefecture.
 
――It seems that further expansion will be born from this project.
 
Suzuki : There have been a lot of calls for the revival of Takigi Noh, and I would like to continue next year and beyond. In the first place, Odawara has almost no events that are typical of this land, and it's lonely. At this opportunity, we want to heap up Odawara by all means.
 

Himeji Takigi Noh in 2009 (c) Corpse Reviver

In addition, these events contribute to regional revitalization. The renewal of Odawara Castle's main tower has been introduced in many TV programs, and if tourists make an excursion, we can expect an economic effect. I would like to continue holding events that invite people from afar, even if they are outside the framework of “re-classical”.
 
――Finally, please tell us about the “Kanagawari Classics 2016 in Odawara” that will be held on September 19th (holiday).
 
Suzuki : I definitely want young people to come. If it weren't for an opportunity like this, I wouldn't be able to see Takigi Noh very often. Moreover, you can also see the world-famous Koichi Makigami on stage. We hope that you will visit us and experience the real thing.
 
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Kanagawa Re-classical Project 2016 Odawara: http://re-coten2016.com/
FM Odawara: http://fm-odawara.com/