【🎭 Mansai Nomura in Miyama: Kyogen with Children and the 300-Year-Old Shinkai Noh】
On June 2nd, the Setaka Lions Club 60th Anniversary Project "Mansai Nomura Kyogen Miyama Performance" was held at Mai Pia Takada in Miyama City. It was a day where all sixth-grade elementary students in the city experienced authentic Kyogen. I observed the first part of the event, which was a workshop.
A performance gathering all sixth-grade elementary students in the city
The performance consisted of two parts. The first part was a Kyogen workshop inviting approximately 310 sixth-grade students from Miyama City and members of the Shinkai Noh Kyogen Preservation Society, who carry on the local farmers' Noh, "Shinkai Noh." The second part was a performance of the Kyogen play "Busu," featuring Mansai Nomura as Taro Kaja.
The event was hosted by the Setaka Lions Club. Since its formation in 1965, the club has been committed to the healthy development of youth and celebrated its 60th anniversary last November. They have continued various community development projects, including supporting local Boy Scouts and sponsoring tournaments for the Miyama City Youth Softball Federation, for which I serve as chairman.
Children with sparkling eyes
I observed the first part of the workshop, and it was wonderful.
Under the guidance of Hiroharu Fukada and Go Iida of the Mansaku-no-Kai, the children began by learning how to sit in seiza and bow, then challenged themselves to recite the Kyogen self-introduction, "I am a person from these parts." When 10 representatives from each elementary school took the stage to introduce themselves, the venue was filled with excitement as the students in the audience shouted back in a school-versus-school call-and-response.
(We have received permission from the Mansaku-no-Kai and the Setaka Lions Club to release the video.) Next, the students experienced the movements of "Kaki Yamabushi," a play that sixth graders learn in their Japanese language textbooks. They practiced the pantomime of picking and eating a persimmon, and the "laughing form" used when the mountain priest falls from a tree. Seeing the elementary students with sparkling eyes imitating the intonation and movements of Kyogen, and watching the members of the Shinkai Noh Preservation Society looking on with smiles, I felt that this was the very moment when culture is passed down from one generation to the next.
Why Kyogen in Miyama?
In his opening remarks, Setaka Lions Club President Takashi Nabeta explained the purpose of the project: "In Takada-cho, Miyama City, there is the Shinkai Noh, which has continued for over 300 years. The venue, Mai Pia, has a magnificent Noh stage. I want this to be an opportunity for children to connect these things and learn why such traditions exist in the Miyama City where they live."
Miyama City is home to two precious traditional performing arts: the nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property "Kowaka Mai" and the prefecturally designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property "Shinkai Noh." Shinkai Noh is a farmers' Noh that has been protected by local people since the Edo period, and it continues to be performed as an offering every October. It seems Mansai Nomura was aware of this Miyama culture and the existence of the Noh stage at Mai Pia Takada, and that connection led to the realization of this performance.
Mr. Nomura told the children, "Kyogen is fun to watch, but it is even more fun to perform. I hope you will become friends who perform Shinkai Noh." One student who stood on stage as a representative said, "The lines were difficult, but it was fun. I became interested in Kyogen." The experience of encountering the real thing truly reached the children's hearts.
Passing local culture to the next generation
In this performance, a leading Kyogen actor engaged with the children while showing respect for local traditional performing arts. Perhaps one day, one of the approximately 310 sixth graders will stand on the stage of the Shinkai Noh.
I would like to express my respect to the members of the Setaka Lions Club for their long-standing support of local youth development, and from my position in the prefectural government, I will continue to support initiatives that pass on the culture that Miyama is proud of to the next generation.
