ST068 Noh Dance

Snow Treasure

Painting size: 16cm x 23cm

Framing size: 26cm x 32cm

The Ishikawa Prefectural Noh Theater is located in the Honda-no-Mori area, where cultural facilities such as the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, the National Crafts Museum, and the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of History are lined up. Apparently, it's the first Noh theater in Japan to be designated as a prefectural theater. It is the base for "Kaga Hosho," a traditional performing art that has been passed down from the Kaga Domain, and I remember seeing a performance there with my entire class when I was in elementary school. I think Noh appreciation is still conducted as part of education today.

A few years ago, I attended an event called "An Evening of Noh Performance," held every Saturday during the summer holidays. You could enjoy one Kyogen play and one Noh play for about 1,000 yen. On a hot summer evening, with the buzzing of cicadas piercing through the heat, it was a chance to appreciate traditional performing arts in a cool indoor setting. I was sitting in a seat diagonally to the side of the stage, watching the Noh performance before it began.

Kyogen plays are based on humor, so even though the language isn't modern, you can generally understand them. But with Noh, it's a continuous stream of "something-or-other," and you have absolutely no idea what's going on. There were a few foreign audience members, but I, a Japanese person, shared the same situation as them. All you can do is use your imagination. But perhaps this is the most correct way to appreciate Noh.

The Noh stage is adorned with only minimal decorations. This is because the essence of Noh lies in allowing the audience to imagine landscapes and stories through the movements and voices of the Noh actors.

In Noh plays, a person who has gone to the afterlife returns to this world, uttering words filled with resentment, lingering attachment, and a broken heart. The face they wear upon their return is a Noh mask. In the end, they find peace and return to the afterlife, but I wanted to see the true face of the woman dancing on the Noh stage wearing the mask.

And so I painted this picture.