{"id":37297,"date":"2025-07-10T10:34:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T01:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/?p=37297"},"modified":"2025-07-11T09:08:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T00:08:44","slug":"%e5%8f%82%e5%8a%a0%e8%80%85%e3%83%ac%e3%83%9d%e3%83%bc%e3%83%88-19-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/news-en\/2025\/07\/10\/37297\/","title":{"rendered":"When One Door Closes, Another Opens ~ How attending Kyogen Night ushered in a new chapter of my university life ~"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Lee Liang Ying<\/span>
\n<\/span>School of Culture, Media and Society\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n

The sky was still bright out when I stepped into the Garden Hall for Kyogen Night. Other than the summer humidity that clung to my skin, it was an evening like any other. I checked-in at the front desk and went over to my assigned seat. Two of my groupmates were already there, so I introduced myself briefly. This was followed by moments of awkward silences broken only by the usual run of pleasantries.<\/span><\/p>\n

I thought the night would play out like any other, where anything that happened during the event would remain as \u201c<\/span>the event<\/span><\/i>\u201d,<\/span> and anyone I met would eventually become a distant memory. Little did I know how wrong I\u2019d be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Two weeks after Kyogen Night, I joined the Waseda Kyogen Circle and went for my first practice session. There, I was able to meet the wonderful organizer of the event, Kanon-san, and one of the student performers, Tsurumaru-san, again. <\/span><\/p>\n

Admittedly, it seems like I joined my first circle in my third year of university on a whim, but at the same time, it has been a long time coming. I remember feeling a tad bummed when I wasn\u2019t able to join a badminton circle in my first year, and thought that I might graduate without joining any in my second year. But now that that misgiving has been allayed by several serendipitous encounters, I believe that some things in life are about waiting for the right things to happen at the right time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by ICC<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

As the saying goes, one thing leads to another. To give a reason as to why I joined the Kyogen circle after attending Kyogen Night, I would have to start with a class I took on traditional Japanese theatre this semester. We didn\u2019t learn about kyogen in particular but it did leave an impression on me as a form of light-hearted, comic entertainment compared to Noh<\/span>,<\/span> which often depicts resentment and tragedy. Actually, I was excited to hear that the guest performers, Nomura Yuki-sensei and Nakamura Shuichi-sensei, would be performing <\/span>Kazumou<\/span><\/i> (Mosquito Sumo) because our professor had told us about the mosquito mask (Image 1). To watch it in front of my eyes felt like what I had learnt was coming to life and becoming a little more real. <\/span><\/p>\n

It was such a fun experience being able to come up with our own nicknames, creating our versions of kyogen plays and reading it out loud that I hadn\u2019t noticed the sky turn dark outside. I always thought that I wasn\u2019t suited to performing but perhaps all I needed was a low stakes opportunity to try it out. It was honestly a star aligned situation because I was also lucky to have groupmates who were equally eager to try performing and encouraged me to join the Kyogen circle afterwards. <\/span><\/p>\n

For such a fortuitous turn of events, what better way was there to mark my induction into the Kyogen circle than a mosquito landing on my knee in the practice room during my first session.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"

Photo\u3000 www.nohmask-japan.com\/new_usofuki.html<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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