Send message to Author

Paper short abstract

On 18 June 2023, a nō drama, Midare Wagō, was staged at the National Theatre in Warsaw. It was a so-called hiraki mono spectacle, in which one of the Hōshō school nō artists achieved her full potential. The author examines rites of passage in nō theatre from an anthropological perspective.

Paper long abstract

On June 18, 2023, the rarely performed nō theatre drama Midare Wagō was staged at the National Theatre in Warsaw. The paper’s author and Takeda Isa, a nō actress of the Hōshō school, were responsible for staging the play, which was performed for the first time outside Japan. Wagō (Harmony) is one of several unusual versions (kogaki) of the Midare play by an unknown author. Within the Hōshō school, it is an essential rite of passage (hiraki mono), through which a nō performer achieves full artistic potential and begins a fully "adult" chapter of professional activity within the guild. A hiraki play is technically and psychologically highly demanding, requiring much practice and the cultivation of the proper attitude towards the stage and other members of the organisation. The term hiraki mono is paired with the term narai, which denotes plays and performances that require special permission. Narai for the shite kata actors representing all five schools includes Shakkyō (Stone Bridge), Dōjōji, Midare (or Shōjō Midare), Okina, and Obasute, the latter usually realised during the last period of artistic development. For the waki kata performers, these are Chōryō (General Zhang Liang), Dōjōji, and Sumidagawa – by Kanze Motomasa (1394?-1432). For kyōgen actors, the hiraki-status dramas include Tsuri gitsune (The Fox Hunter) and Hanago (Flower), among others. For the hayashi kata musicians, it would usually be Zeami’s play Kiyotsune and, again, Dōjōji by Kanze Nobumitsu (1435 or 1450 – 1516), especially its ranbyoshi section, with very irregular patterns and changing tempo. Performers spend their lifetimes practising narai in accordance with their stage careers and ages. It is the initial performance of a narai piece, which will be treated as a hiraki; the performer's status is elevated if he or she is able to complete it. For this presentation, the author interviewed nō artists - shite and waki actors as well as musicians - asking them about the nature of hiraki stage rituals. The author wishes to examine the rites of passage in nō theatre from an anthropological perspective. These considerations will be supplemented with an analysis of contemporary nō’s gender policy.