Classical Japanese drama Noh performance stuns Balinese

Classical Japanese drama Noh performance stuns Balinese

Text by I Wayan Juniarta, photos by Murdani Usman

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Hundreds of Balinese were astonished by a
rare performance of the centuries-old classical Japanese drama
Noh by a Kyoto-based theatrical troupe.

Staged at the Ardha Candra amphitheater in Bali's capital
Denpasar on Sept. 26, the troupe, Komparo-Ryu Noh, attracted a
huge audience as they enriched the stages of Bali with their
outstanding performance.

A member of the organizing committee said the troupe was one
of the best Noh theatrical groups in Japan. The group, he said,
has already existed since the birth of Noh in the 14th century.

"I am so surprised that a country so far advanced in
technology can still provide space for an art form so slow and
classical in nature," Balinese playwright Mas Ruscitadewi said.

For many ordinary Balinese, Japan is most often associated
with technological gadgets and hi-tech electronic products, and
a generous people who often vacation in Bali.

"We rarely hear about the country's achievements in arts and
culture. All that we know about Japan is the sumo and ninjas,"
one person in attendance at the performance said.

Noh, also spelled No, is a traditional Japanese theatrical
form and one of the oldest extant theatrical forms in the world,
according to the Encyclopedia Americana.

The word No literally means "talent" and "skill". Unlike
Western-type dramas which employ a narrative style, Noh
performers are simply storytellers who use their visual
appearances and their movements to suggest the essence of their
tale, rather than enacting it.

Developed from ancient forms of dance-drama and a variety of
ritual festivals at shrines and temples between the 12th and 13th
centuries, Noh took shape as a form of theater in the 14th
century.

Kana'ami Kiyotsugu (1333 to 1384) and his son Zeami Motokiyo
wrote many of the most beautiful and exemplary Noh texts,
including Matsukaze (Wind in the Pines) by Kan'ami and Takasago
by Zeami.

Under the patronage of Shogun Yoshimitsu, Zeami also
formulated the principles of Noh theater which have guided its
artists for centuries.

Noh plays include solemn dances and were written in poetical
forms of the ancient Japanese language. Some of the actors wear
small, elegant masks. Noh plays often include kyogen, humorous
sketches performed as interludes between the scenes of the play.

The performance by the Kyoto Noh troupe was co-organized by
Paras Paros, the Bali Tourism Executives Association, and several
Japanese people.

The performance was, in the words of the Paras Paros chairman,
an effort to build a warmer cultural bridge between Bali and
Japan.

"It was also a way to underline the prevailing stable security
situation in Bali. Japan is one of Bali's most important tourism
markets today," Suryawan said.

Suryawan pointed out that the Japanese community in Bali, led
by Mitsuo Takabane and Takao Baba, successfully raised hundreds
of million of rupiah to enable the Noh troupe to perform in Bali.

"We love Bali very much, and the performance is one of our
ways to strengthen the Balinese-Japanese friendship," Takao said.

To underline the theme of friendship, a Balinese jegog, or
bamboo musical ensemble, was given the opportunity to open the
show.

The Suara Agung jegog musical group has frequently performed
in Japan, and they presented a number of dynamic and exhilarating
compositions that night.

"The atmosphere of the performance was very much a contrast.
First we were entertained by the speedy and melodious jegog, and
then we were absorbed in the slow, calm Noh," Mas Ruscitadewi
stated.