"Hajitomi ~ Holding a service for flowers" at Kanze Nohgakudo

I was very lucky to have a chance to enjoy "Hajitomi" at Kanze Nohgakudo in Shibuya. Mr. Kazutada Tusda, a noh player, must have chosen this noh play, being conscious of the limited number of days to be able to use that stage as the nohgakudo is shceduled to close in March, 2015, and to be reopened in Ginza in 2018. Hajitomi" means a type of window that requires supports to keep it open. See picture below. It's one kind of "hajitomi."

Story: When a monk was praying for the flowers he had used during his 90-day training, a woman appeared and said she lived in Gojo by way of introducing herself to him. She offered a white flower of Yugao (bottle gourd) and disappeared. In the Tale of Genji, Gojo is the place where Yugao and Genji made love at her residence for the first time but she unexpectedly passed away next day. Being perplexed, the monk went to Gojo and noticed a house with hajitomi. The spirit of Yugao then appeared from the house. She reminisced about love between Genji and her and danced until dawn. When the monk awoke, he wondered if all the things I thought I had seen was a dream or a real.

Yugao on the stage put on three layers of thick white kimono lobes over a light peach color (or light salmon pink) hakama. It took me a while to become aware of how big Yugao really was, and probably shortly after that, I was drawn to the stage; that is, to me, she came to life on the stage. I had been unable to relate to the masked figure before that. Amazing things were that Yugao walked right in the direction of where I was seated and I felt myself being eye-to-eye with her, three times. Those were incredible moments, leaving me profound impressions.

Mr. Yoshikatsu Tsukuda's kakegoe or cries were rich in expressions and I believe that I owed to him that I was able to enjoy Hajitomi so much. He is an okawa or otsuzumi player. He controlled his cries as he liked and expressed all sorts of feelings and the stage's sentiment by changing his cries' lengths and tones. He sometimes ended his cries slowly or hurriedly up, other times sharply down or in a tapering manner and some other times flatly with sharp cuts or whispers. Due to the effects of those cries, I felt I saw fogs coming in against the backdrop of the silhouetted Mt. Arashiyama, which was mysteriously illuminated by moonlight from the cloud-covered moon. I saw Yugao dance through half-blossomed foliage of plum trees.

Pic above is from here. In this picture, Yugao is wearing red hakama but at the Kanze Nohgakudo, she worn the light pink one. The picture below is Kanze Nohgakudo before the performance began.

"Faster" and "Carmina Burana” at New National Theater Tokyo

David Bentley - I've never had an opportunity to see his choreography. So I went to New National Theater Tokyo to see his pieces.

"Faster" is Bentley's recent work commemorating the 2012 London Olympics. It tuned out to be a disappointment. It lacks something to inspire audience. Moreover, dancers looked more like participating to a junior high school's athletic event than a dance on stage. As an audience, I was unable to create a relationship with what's going on on the stage, and as a result, I felt restless and uncomfortable (Why I'm here?) during the whole performance.

I was looking forward to the second piece, Camina Burana, although I didn't know much about the work except that it was accompanied by singing.

After the goddess of fate's dance at the very beginning, 3 female dancers in white long dresses　（liked the dress) appeared from the stage left. When they reached about the middle of the stage, I noticed their body lines were a bit weird. So I sat up in my seat and looked closely at around their waists. I realized the characters were all pregnant and in the eighth month at least. They sauntered along the laundry line stretching in the length of the stage and against the darkness of the background. Pregnant bodies dancing, which was totally unexpected but natural and interesting. That's when I wished there had been subtitles in Japanese for audiences.

A snapshot from the New National Theater Tokyo home page.

Counter tenor, Jun Hagiwara's voice was clear and beautiful. I have heard at least three counter tenors in San Francisco, but his was the best so far. I'm not sure whether or not he can project his voice sufficiently in the San Francisco Opera House, which is twice as big as New National, but I wish he would give a try to leap onto the world stage, by auditioning outside Japan.

Chorus was good. Their voices were young, energetic and straight-forward, but after for a while, it gets kind of boring. Monotonous. I felt exactly the same way, when I listened to "The Tale of Hoffman" a few months ago. The New National Theater Tokyo's chorus seemed to be lacking the depth and breadth of voices, which the SF Opera chorus is blessed to have. It may be because the SF Opera chorus doesn't have retirement policies. So the members can stay until they decide to leave. The US Constitution bans age discrimination except for special cases. Hence there's more diversity in voices in the SF chorus. It seems to be working as an advantage for them, allowing them to express human feelings in depth and breadth.

It's sad that Japan's age discrimination in job has some consequence for artistic expressions.

I learned from the video shown after the performance that Mr. Bentley had choreographed "Prince of Pagoda" for the New National Theater Ballet. The preview reminded me of Kenneth MacMillan so I'm interested in seeing the piece.

Model Train Convention at Tokyo Big Site

I was at International Model Train Convention held at Big Site in Tokyo on August 17, 2013,and helped my friend's member shop. He is one of my high school classmates and has been selling LED interior illumination lights for model trains.

He is one of those railway train mania. He designed some of the LED lights he sells as he was an electronic engineer in his previous life.

To go to Big Site, I took Yurikamome line and got off at the "Kokusai Tenjijo Shomen-Genkan Mae" station. You can walk up to Big Site directly from there. I liked Big Site's huge, red three-dimensional symbol mark, which looked to me very Californian.

Once open, people started pouring in and the exhibition floor got very crowded, which was more than I expected.

Pic：Model trains running against the background picture of a mountain.

Model trains of variable sizes and colors were running in and out very realistic model mountains, towns populated with people, and fields, passing by model stations (with people) and over rivers and roads (with various model vehicles) with whirring sounds here and their in the convention floor. I was slowly getting why some people get enthralled with very realistic world of miniatures with emphasis on trains.

Pic：Model trains running in a miniature landscape garden.

The average patrons of the convention were pot-bellied men of 30s and 40s, wearing T-shirt and long sleeved top. Women are definitely minority but according to my friend, their number had been gradually increasing over the years. My impression was that some of the women are engineers. There were many fathers with their kids, and children gave lots of energy to the exhibition floor. I talked to foreigners such as German and Chinese.

"The train is coming into the 3rd platform... The train is passing by the 2nd platform... Please stand back behind the white line to avoid danger." I think that almost all train users have gotten tired of those announcement female voice. However, for those railroad fans, those sweet voices may be another ultimate object of their passion. At one booth, each time model trains approach the model station, those announcements were heard, which was very frequently. Never tired of looking at trains or hearing the announcements - The convention is the space where manias can express such intimate feelings toward trains and females, represented by sweet voices, without any reservation.

Pic：Toy gardens are so detailed, almost superior to model trains. Dr. Hyao Kawai, a psychologist who uses a toy garden for analysis, would love it.

The above is one of my favorite exhibits. The upper, half-sphere part of the contrivance spins as you rotate the handle on the lower part. That rotates the background scenery of a Bullet Train and gives you an impression of as if the train is running, although it actually remains at the bottom all the while. You can see special local products such as apple, brevoort fish and sushi studded on the half-sphere background surface.

The creator of the half-spere says, "I am not a railroad fan but love to build things like these. That's why I put them on the exhibition."

Another of his work. The background blue is refreshing. I love this one best.

Kanze Noh-gakudo at Shibuya

I wasn't sure about trying Noh chants. But went anyway, because I wanna try at least once in my life time.

I got off at Shibuya and took the building 109 exit to emerge on the ground. I saw on my left "Kujira-ya," an old and famous restaurant. Soon I was walking up on a gentle slope and saw the sign of「Kanze Nohgakudo (観世能楽堂)」on the side wall of an oldish concrete building three-story high. I felt "Oh, sheet" and at the same relieved, as I reached at my destination without getting lost even once.

I entered Kanze Noh-gakudo and opened the door of auditorium. Inside, there are a traditionally roofed Noh-stage building on the right side of the open ceiling space and the long corridor extending from the stage to the left. Seats are spacious and surround the L-letter shaped traditional Noh theater structure comfortably.

The main Noh stage made of Japanese cypress is glittering softly. It sticks out deep in the audience seat, which is dark compared to the stage, though the audience seat never gets as dark as that of a western auditorium even during performance. The Noh stage looked as if it were the other side of the real world, that is, it appears unreal and is blissfully beautiful. Drawn on the backdrop of the stage is a stylized pine tree whose clusters of needles simmer in bluish green. On the backdrop of the right side of the stage, thick bamboo sticks are in soft green as if they are shining in a sun ray right after a passing shower. I suddenly understood why we Japanese describe a personal big moment as "standing on the stage." The Noh stage appeared to be such an exorbitantly happy place.（Snapshot below is from the Kanze Nohgakudo home page)

Performance begins without any audio announcement or greeting.

Four men wearing hakama and carrying instruments with them came on the stage from the small door located at the corner on the right wall (with bamboo drawing) of the stage and sat on the floor with their back against the pine. Five more men and one woman came on and sat their back against the bamboos. "Mai-bayashi or 舞囃子," one kind of Noh about which I had had no idea of what it was like, was about to begin. The four men on the left began playing a Japanese drum, a knee drum, a shoulder drum and a whistle respectively. The five men who'd perform Noh chant, or "jiuta," sat on the floor with the woman in Japanese kimono at the top of their triangle formation.

I was surprised at how extraordinarily well jiuta men carried their voice in chanting. The knee and shoulder drums would resonate as if to cut jiuta men's penetrating voice in slices. Intoned shouts of "Oh,""Yei," or "Ha" would chime in between knee and shoulder drums and whistle's often sharp melodies. The men's shouts were so clear and loud that I couldn't help wondering where in the body those voices had come from. The combination of the percussion and human chants and shouts was crisp, rhythmic and so cool.

My friend danced and chanted a piece called "Ukon." I was stunned and wondered how she was able to project such a loud voice especially because I've known her as having rather thin voice.

Performance suddenly ended and the next one began.

Watching several performances, I imagined how Lord Nobunaga Oda, a 16th century war lord and a Noh lover carried his body on a stage. And many samurai worriers. In between their wars.

I got it why some people are absorbed to the world of Noh. It's a happy, pure and brilliantly creative space in which stylized human shouts resonate with chants, in which the sounds of instruments slice the air and human voices in myriad ways and angles, on whose floor white tabi socks glide gracefully and occasionally with thumps. The shiny wooden stage appears as if it were floating above the oblong garden lined with white ballast and dotted with pine shoots. And the closeness of the performer and audience gives an air of conspiracy (or a promise) that both contribute to the construction of a happy, creative space.

P.S.: There is an Inari shrine right next to the Noh-gakudo on the same premise. I wonder what kind of relationship they have between them.

Musashi-Itsukaichi City's local veggie and SF Chinatown

Itukaichi Farmers Center in Musashi-Itsukaichi (Tokyo) is located on Itsukaichi Kaido Way, which is where I found a local vegetable, or "ji-yasai," called "Norabo-na."

I boiled it and mixed with katsuo-bushi fish frakes and a small amount of soy source. Gee, it reminded me of the veggie I used to buy in Chiantown when I was in San Francisco. See the pic below: It has thick leaves, fat stems and white flowers, if in flowering season.

I have linked a pic of Norabo-na vegetable. It grows like this. Definitely, it belongs to the family of green mustard.

Chinatown in San Francisco has lots of veggies you've never seen in Tokyo. It's clear that Chinese people love veggies and eat a wide variety of them including those looked like ornamental house plants (which, by the way, I tried)!

I love chinese veggies because they have much more distinct vegetable tastes and smells than those available in Japanese and US supermarket in cities. Now having learned about a local vegetable in Musashi-Itsukaichi, I started wondering that many veggies in Chinatown are originally local veggies brought in to San Francisco by Chinese immigrants from their hometowns.

I liked「芥菜」in miso soup. It looks like takana, a popular Japanese veggie used in pickles. It could be takana really. In Chinatown, it has two varieties: thick and thinner ones. It has slightly bitter taste, which I love. It appears that Chinese people fry them in hot deep oil first and cook them with garlic. Or they make pickles with daikon-raddish and carrots. I saw them in Chinese restaurants.

It took me a long time to try Japanese-spindletree-ish thing or "Masaki" because it was as if it were trees rather than veggies, but once I eat its leaves (no stem), they were so delicious. It's only available short time in spring. I don't know the name.

I wonder whether or not those Chinese veggies in Chinatown might have been available some local areas in Japan, as Chinese people have migrated into Japan since 10th century. One thing it seems clear to me is that those veggies available in Tokyo and US supermarkets are select veggies among many because of their long-lasting characteristics after harvest, and we the consumer have come to believe that those in supermarkets are the only edible veggies.

Above pic is "oil plant" or "油菜" in Chinese. It might mean "Green mustard." It's sold almost all year around. It appears that the same veggie changes its name as it grows - just like buri. Smaller the better. It's possible that they look very similar to me but for those who know, small and bigger ones are completely different plants. Actually, I asked shop people but they said those veggies were all the same. I used to boil them and mix them with tomato and balsamic vinegar.

Cherry Blossom at the peak in Tokyo

Originally, it's April the 5th. then moved to March the 25th. Yesterday, Japan Meteorological Bureau (JMB) declared, "It's tomorrow, March the 23rd!"

It's the full bloom date for cherry trees in Tokyo. Every year, JMB forecasts the full bloom date for every district in Japan; so people can shuffle their plans and choose a date for "cherry blossom viewing" or "a cherry blossom appreication party."

My choice of viewing area was Kanda-gawa (Kanda River or "神田川"). I hopped on a Tokyo Metro Yurakucho line train and got off at the Edogawa-bashi station in the late morning.

Truly, it was super beautiful.

Cherry Blossom viewing is "the ultimate" flower viewing or "hanami (花見）". When people say "hanami," it means "cherry blossom viewing." There's a walkway on both sides of the river with several bridges over it. Very convenient for appreciating cherry blossoms and making a trip back to the starting point.

Many people enjoy picnic with sake under a cherry tree. Many more walk along Kanda River to enjoy cherry blossom from different angles.

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Along Kanda River and next to "Basho-an" and famous "Chinzan-so," there's "Eisei Bunko" museum or "永青文庫", some of its collection such as Japanese armors and swords were shown at Asian Art Museum in San Francisco a couple of years ago.

Kanda River's cherry tree type is "Somei Yoshino (染井吉野), representative of a cherry tree. Flowers of this kind bloom in globular, and flowers in one ball bloom all together this year.

Carps and turtles live in swiftly flowing Kanda River. which used to overrun. Today, overflows will be led to a huge underground duct system to prevent flood.

Hanami will span only a week at most. If there's a windy day, cherry trees shed their flowers at once, leaving naked stems and twigs...

P.S. 3/30/13

Cherry flowers have been holding amazingly well.

Temperature has dropped since the 23rd, and we had no major rains or windy days in Tokyo. Today, people are enjoying "sakura fubuki, or cherry flower storm" in which petals are falling softly like a rain, even though there's no slightest breeze. Cherry petal falling reminds me of Gilda's song of cry in Rigoletto's quartet. Pathways underneath have become as if they were lined with pink carpet. Cheery blossom is beautiful from beginning to the end...

Japanese Plum is in full bloom in Tokyo

Flower viewing is a national pastime. From mid-February to mid-March, it's a blossom season for ume or Japanese plums. People go to see them in droves.

This year (2013), weather was cold and the blooming of Japanese plums (early blooming types) was delayed for two weeks but today, due to warm weather, early blooming types are in full bloom together with those in late blooming types.

There are several places famous for Japanese plum blossom viewing in Tokyo. I went to Ikegami Japanese Plum Garden (池上梅園). It has about 30 kinds of Japanese plums, of which 150 trees bear "hakubai (白梅)" or white plum flowers and 220 trees, "kobai (紅梅)," or pink plum flowers. During flower season, it announces flowering status via web.

In Tokyo, Japanese plum flowers and fragrance can be enjoyed for the next two weeks.

Tokyo Metro Asakusa line's Nishi-magome is the nearest subway station. It's about 7-minute walk to Ikegami Baien (Ikegami Japanese Plum Garden). You'll soon see flowers on your left.