“Kanagawari Classics 2016 in Odawara” will be held on September 19th (holiday), once again lighting up the Noh fire at the new Odawara Castle
<Event overview>
"Kanagawa Classics 2016 in Odawara"
Date : September 19, 2016 (holiday)
Part 1 Doors open at 12:30/Start at 13:00
・Enshu Iida Yamana Shrine Gion Festival performing arts (nationally designated important intangible cultural property)
・Rakugo by Sanzo Yanagiya
・Odawara Hayashi (Odawara City Prefecturally Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
・Kashima Odori at Terayama Shrine (Odawara City Prefecturally Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
・Hakone Yutate Shishimai (Hakone Town Nationally Selected/Prefecturally Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
・Uirouri oral study group
Part 2 Doors open at 18:00 / Show starts at 18:30 / Scheduled to 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.
Price : Part 1 free
Part 2: Advance ticket 3,000 yen/Same-day ticket 3,500 yen (limited to 1,000 seats, all seats are non-reserved)
*Please see here ( http://re-coten2016.com/?page_id=5 ) for advance ticket sales locations.
Delivering authentic traditional performing arts will lead to the revitalization of classics.
--FM Odawara is currently preparing for this year's "Re-Classical" project. Please tell us the story behind that.
Suzuki : FM Odawara is a community FM broadcasting station that started 10 years ago. Broadcasting stations gather a variety of local information. In order to disseminate this message in a wide range of ways, not just radio, in recent years we have begun to undertake local event projects. In addition, we have established the Odawara Citrus Club to promote the region and sell local cider and Odawara mandarin flower honey. As I was working on town development and regional revitalization through these activities, I was given the responsibility of this year's "Re-classics" project.
――``Re-Classic'' is a project to disseminate Kanagawa Prefecture's traditional culture in a new form. Mr. Suzuki, how do you personally view "re-classic"?
Suzuki : I've been thinking about what "re" (= rebirth) means. I think there are various ways of expression, such as a collaboration between traditional performing arts and modern dance, but I have doubts that it will ever catch on. After thinking about it, I realized that performing authentic traditional performing arts in this day and age and showing them to young people is in itself a form of revitalization. Therefore, in this edition of ``Re-Classics,'' we would like to dig up traditional culture and present it in its original form without over-dramatizing it.
--However, it also feels new.
Suzuki : We are also promoting collaboration, with Robert Harris, who is active as a DJ, serving as the general host, and Koichi Makigami (musician) performing. However, I think that performing Takigi Noh at Odawara Castle itself is ``Re''. Actually, Takigi Noh was performed at Odawara Castle until 2009, but it has been suspended since then. There were many requests for its revival, so we decided to try again.
However, at that time the school was called Kanze-ryu, but this year I asked for the Hosho-ryu. When I researched old documents with people from Odawara City's Cultural Properties Division, I learned that the Hosho School had some contact with the Hojo clan. In that case, I thought that I would like to ask the Hosho School to perform ``Yato Soga,'' which has a connection to Odawara.
Takigi Noh performed in 2004 [Courtesy of Odawara Digital Archive]--What kind of performance is the Kyogen play ``Bunzo''?
Suzuki : This is a performance related to the Battle of Ishibashiyama in the ``Genpei Rise and Susuki.'' Odawara is home to Mt. Ishibashi, where Minamoto no Yoritomo raised an army, as well as Sanada Reisha Shrine, which enshrines Sanada Yoshitada, who took the lead in this battle and died in the battle, and Bunsando Hall, which enshrines his vassals. Actually, I was also born in Ishibashi. We started chatting about ``Bunsando, right?'' and started talking about digging up plays that are connected to Odawara.
--It's very local-based.
Suzuki : Many of the performers have connections to Odawara. Originally, I belonged to the Noh song club at Odawara High School. After graduating, I became a band member and then a music producer. However, 10 years ago, I decided that if I was going to change jobs, now was the time, and I decided to return to Odawara. I talked to a lot of people through my connections from when I was at Odawara High School and when I was a music producer.
--For example, what kind of person would you be?
Suzuki : Koichi Makigami, who I am working with on the production, is also a senior at Odawara High School. Rakugo storyteller Sanzo Yanagiya, who appears in the first part, also graduated from Odawara High School. Robert Harris, the general host, is also from Yokohama.
--It's also surprising that Hikashu's Koichi Makigami will be appearing.
Suzuki : You will not be directly involved in Takigi Noh, but will perform on the Noh stage. I plan to play the shakuhachi and theremin on stage. There is a traditional craft called the Odawara wind chime made of Odawara castings, and I think they will incorporate that into the performance as well. Furthermore, FOOD (an avant-garde jazz unit consisting of British saxophonist Ian Ballamy and Norwegian drummer Thomas Strännen) will also be performing together. It's very rare for them to appear on the Noh stage, and it looks interesting.
The circle of traditional culture spreads from “Re-classic”
--Now, let me ask you about the first part of the program. Admission is free, but there's plenty to see, including rakugo by Sanzo Yanagiya, who I just mentioned, the entertainment from the Enshu Iida Yamana Shrine Gion Festival, and Odawara Hayashi.
Suzuki : We will also perform Kashima Odori from Terayama Shrine, Yutate Shishimai from Hakone, and Uirouri Kuchiwa. These traditional performing arts are often presented in halls, so the general public does not have a chance to see them. Nowadays, Odawara Castle has been renovated and the number of tourists is increasing, so if you perform at the castle ruins park, it will catch the attention of many people. And admission is free. I'm sure some people come just for Sanzo Yanagiya, so I thought I'd use Sanzo as a starting point for them to watch the traditional performing arts (lol). And then I'll ask Robert Harris to play around with it (lol).
--The Enshu Iida Yamana Shrine Gion Festival is a performing art of Shizuoka Prefecture. Why did you add this to the program?
Suzuki : Actually, this one also has a connection to Odawara. In Odawara, there is Uiro Co., Ltd., a company founded 650 years ago by the Uiro family. Uiro is what we would now call a druggist. They came to Japan from China in the 1300s and settled in Hakata before moving to Kyoto. At the Gion Festival, there is a float with a praying mantis on it called ``Tourouyama'', and it was made by the Uiro family. Apparently there was a base near Honno-ji Temple, and there seems to be a myth that Oda Nobunaga became Uiro (lol).
After that, the Uiro family was called by Hojo Soun and moved to Odawara, but it is said that they may have introduced the Manto dance to Enshu, which is between Odawara and Kyoto. The dance is still performed at the Gion Festival at Yamana Shrine, but it has never been performed in Odawara. Well, I thought I'd take this opportunity to ask you something.
--The location of Odawara Castle Ruins Park is also attractive.
Suzuki : After the renovation, we are actively holding events here. Approximately 4,000 people visit on Saturdays and Sundays, so it's quite exciting. We even held a wedding ceremony in front of Odawara Castle.
-- Mr. Suzuki, have you made any new discoveries through your involvement in this "Re-classic" project?
Suzuki : It was a series of discoveries. It was through this project that I first learned about the Kyogen performance ``Bunzo.'' I also felt the difficulty of deciding where to focus when looking at history. Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked Odawara Castle and the Hojo family was destroyed. In that case, the Uiro family is the only one left from the Hojo period. Furthermore, the Odawara Castle that Hideyoshi attacked was not in its current location, but in a mountain castle near Odawara High School. When I was a child, I wasn't taught that kind of thing (lol). I felt that as we traced history, we could see many things.
--What kind of collaboration system do you have with the prefecture?
Suzuki : The Kashima Odori of Terayama Shrine remains not only in Odawara but also in Shizuoka. In the future, I would like to work with the prefecture to connect the fragmented traditional culture. I would like to think about how to bring out the prefecture's intangible folk cultural assets as a joint project with the prefecture.
--It looks like this project will lead to further expansion.
Suzuki : There was a lot of demand for the revival of Takigi Noh, and we would like to continue it next year and beyond. To begin with, Odawara doesn't have many local events, so it's a bit lonely. I would like to take this opportunity to liven up Odawara.
Himeji Takigi Noh performed in 2009 (c) Corpse ReviverMoreover, these events also lead to regional revitalization. The renewal of Odawara Castle's castle tower has been featured on many TV programs, and if tourists come to visit, we can expect economic benefits. I would like to continue holding events that invite people from far and wide, even if they are outside the framework of ``re-classics''.
--Finally, please give us an idea of the upcoming "Kanagawari Classics 2016 in Odawara", which is coming up on September 19th (holiday).
Suzuki : I would really like young people to come. If you don't have an opportunity like this, you probably won't get to see Takigi Noh. What's more, you can also see the stage performance of the world-famous Koichi Makigami. We hope that you will come and experience the real thing.
– – –
Kanagawa Re-Classical Project 2016 Odawara: http://re-coten2016.com/
FM Odawara: http://fm-odawara.com/
