古典のその先へ。いまの時代に生きる新作能をヨーロッパで巡演

Introduction

 

Hello! My name is Shimizu Kanji, and I am a noh performer trained in the Kanze School. I am also a board member of the Public Interest Incorporated Association TESSEN-KAI as well as an adjunct professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts. 

 

I am writing here to ask you to support my project 2019 Noh Tour in Europe – Holy Mother in Nagasaki & At Jacob’s Well in this September. 

 

Noh is one of the oldest performing art forms in the world. It was established in the mid fourteenth century and has been performed through today. Noh’s theme is universal: it depicts life and death and love toward humans. However, I feel classical noh pieces cannot always depict phenomena in today’s society. The issues involving humanity in modern society are different from those in the fourteenth century, and I believe we must express these issues by creating contemporary noh plays. Therefore, while performing classical noh pieces, I have worked on the creation of contemporary noh pieces that express the issues of the modern world. Holy Mother in Nagasaki and At Jacob’s Well are two of these contemporary pieces.

 

 

 

Noh and Myself: Why Contemporary Pieces?

 

I experienced noh for the first time when I was a university student, and I was so impressed. At the time, noh players were trying to create a new artistic expression by utilizing noh’s traditional techniques. They were performing not only noh pieces but also Greek tragedies, Beckett’s works and so on. I realized that the traditional performing art form was so powerful that they could play with other genres. I jumped into the noh world. I thought I could never go further to achieve something deep in theatrical expression without training in the noh. 

 

I was trained under the late Hisao Kanze, the late Tetsunojo Kanze VII (Living National Treasure) and Tetsunojo Kanze IX at TESSENKAI. These noh masters worked a lot with other genres, disciplines, and cultures, and I became interested in working with those from outside of the noh world and different cultures. I then took opportunities to perform with contemporary theater artists and musicians and collaborate with Indian dancers, Polish artists, and Chinese performers and so on. 

 

After these experiences, I now ask myself: what is the meaning to perform noh in contemporary society? While classical pieces’ themes are universal, sometimes issues in modern society cannot be well expressed in classical pieces. If so, I think we need to create new noh pieces that are relevant to contemporary society and audiences. That is why I have been working on contemporary noh pieces such as Holy Mother in Nagasaki and At Jacob’s Well. 

 

 

 

About This Project: 2019 Noh Tour in Europe – Holy Mother in Nagasaki & At Jacob’s Well

 

2019 Noh Tour in Europe – Holy Mother in Nagasaki & At Jacob’s Well is a grass-roots project. It was initiated in 2015 by Vienna residents who heard of my Holy Mother in Nagasaki performance in New York. Then, they, Dr. Diethard Leopold, the president of Austrian-Japanese Society and art curator, and I started developing this project to call for reconciliation and world peace through the presentation of noh performances that appeal to contemporary audiences.  

 

 

This project also celebrate the Friendship between Japan and the three countries. In fact, the year 2019 is the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Austria and Japan and the 100th anniversary between Poland and Japan. I believe that each other’s culture looked so much strange 150 or 100 years ago, however, people accepted each other and developed friendships not only on the diplomatic level but also on the grass-root level. Each country’s people must have had tolerance and willingness to accept those who are different cultures. That we should learn from the attitude is an important message I hope to express through this project. 

 

 

 

Funding Necessity

 

For the success of this project, the professional noh performers written above and skillful staff members are essential. In addition, while we usually do not create a new mask for a performance of a classical piece, we create four new masks for this project to effectively deliver the message of this project to contemporary European audiences. Also, we need to translate the two contemporary pieces and some classical pieces into three languages.  

 

While we receive two Japanese grants and one sponsorship for this project as well as income from ticket sales partially, it is hard to fully cover the total cost of this project by these incomes. Therefore, I would like to ask you to  support this project through this crowdfunding campaign. We will use your support mainly to compensate the professional performers and staff members who are essential for the success of this project. 

 

We will send a report of this project (pdf) via email to all supporters. In addition, we prepare returns below:

・TESSEN-KAI original stationary (5,000JPY)
・Original tote (10,000JPY or more)
・Ticket to a TESSEN-KAI regular performance in November or - my performance in December in Tokyo (30,000JPY)
・Invitation to a workshop or report meeting at TESSEN-KAI’s noh stage in Aoyama, Tokyo (50,000JPY)

There are also courses for those who simply hope to support this project and not receive goods above. 

I believe that it is very much important to carry out this project now. Holy Mother in Nagasaki and At Jacob’s Well symbolize the importance of peace and tolerance to others. Sadly, however, nuclear arms race is getting fiercer, and people are deeply divided by race, religion, ethnicity, citizenship and so on. I strongly hope that this project prompts Europe audiences to think about these contemporary issues and move forward to create a society that enjoys peace and diversity. 

 

Thank you for your time to read my long message. 

 

Shimizu Kanji

 

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Shimizu Kanji Profile

Shimizu Kanji, a shite performer of Kanze School, was born in 1953 and trained under the late Hisao Kanze, the late Tetsunojo Kanze VII (Living National Treasure) and Tetsunojo Kanze IX. An Important Intangible Cultural Property designated by the Japanese government, Kanji is a board member and actor of The Tesse-kai Noh Theater Association, a branch of Kanze School established in the early 18th century, and an adjunct professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. Not only does he perform classical Noh repertoire, but he also dedicates himself to the revival of lost plays. Besides, he participates in the creation of contemporary noh pieces to explore the possibilities of noh as an art form that is relevant to today’s society. He has directed and performed multiple contemporary noh pieces including Holy Mother in Nagasaki and Okinawa Zangetsu-ki written by the late Dr. Tomio Tada, an internationally renowned immunologist and writer. He has also participated in various contemporary theater pieces and international collaborations including a performance with the Chinese Kunqu Opera. In 2018, he started a multi-disciplinary project, Aoyama Experimental Lab, with contemporary musicians and dancers to look for new ways of expression.