"Waseda Tsutsuji-noh"

Hajitomi (Noh play) Yugao loves Hikaru-genji, and dances.

Nukegara (Kyogen play) Tarokaja cheats his master out of sake.

Shojo-midare (Noh play) Two Shojo dance together in a perfect manner.

Hiromitsu Omori, senior student at the School of Law, member of the "Kanze Kai"

"Waseda Tsutsuji-noh" (Noh azalea plays) were held at the Okuma Auditorium this year again. This was the third time, and the programme consisted of a public performance of Noh and Kyogen plays by Noh players who have strong ties with Waseda University. I participated in this event on the student staff because I am a member of a Noh club.

The Okuma Auditorium is an excellent building, because of its excellent acoustics. But Noh needs a special stage and we carefully prepared for the event. Professionals built the Noh stage in a short time; in the end it was not inferior to a permanent Noh stage. It was really impressive that the backstage staff treated players carefully in dramatic presentation, arranging their greenroom and so on.

On that day, "Hajitomi" (a Noh play, Komparu school), "Nukegara" (a Kyogen play, Okura school) and "Shojo-midare" (a Noh play, Kanze school) were represented. As these plays were performed at the Okuma Auditorium, we could enjoy Noh played by several schools at the same time.

In "Hajitomi", Yugao from the Tale of Genji is the heroine. We were impressed with the feelings of a lady with neatness and pathos. Compared with Noh plays, Kyogen is relatively more understandable. In "Nukegara", the comical session between the drunk Tarokaja (the common name of a manservant of a daimyo or a samurai appearing in Kyogen or Noh farce) and his master amused the audience. In "Shojo-midare", Shojo the hero became two through a special stage effect and the two fairies wearing red costumes showed us an excellent dance.

Noh is rarely sponsored by a university. I hope that performances of Tsutsuji Noh continue to be given. I think it is a very good opportunity for students to watch Noh for the first time because it is free of charge.