My objective - meet old Hino friends, receive my reserved ticket, exchange accumulated info over a bite, watch together Celtic Noh at Orchard Hall, Bunkamura. Hino friends chose my favorite Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich which I have missed for so many years. Bunkamura offers great gourmet dining for theatergoers.
 |
|
Photo courtesy
of Masataka Ishida
|
Celtic Noh? Yes, Noh was brought to Ireland by poet Ezra Pound to the 1923 Nobel Laureate W.B. Yeats (WBY: 1865-1932) who produced a number of Noh plays, including “At Hawk’s Well”. The Hawk’s Well was performed in London in 1916 with Michio Ito as the Hawk dancer. I saw a paper advertisement of “Takahime”, a Japanese version, or Hawk Princess last year performed in Nara to commemorate the centennial performance. At about the same time my friend in Hino, who knew I was a Celtic Noh fan, purchased an advance ticket for me for another Takahime; this performance a collaborative work with the Celtic “Anuna” Chorus.
The WBY’s Noh plays were all based on the Irish mythological and folk hero Cuchulain whom I willfully compare with Susanoo, a Japanese gigantic humanoid in the Kojiki Story. To WBY, Cuchulain was an inspiration at the time Ireland strode forcibly toward independence since the 1916 Easter Rising, along with the Celtic Revival Drive.
Cuchulain means ‘hound’ of Culann in Irish. Legend has it that a boy Setanta, at a tender age, arrived alone late for a feast at the residence of the smithy named Culann who wasn’t advised about Setanta's coming. The fierce hound was set free for intruders while the feast was going on. Setanta was attacked by the guard hound. He fought with the dog; grabbing it by the neck, smashed it against a tree, and killed it, as per “Cuchulain of Mag Muirthemni”, written (translated from Gaelic) by Lady Gregory, mentor, financial supporter, Abbey Theatre cofounder of WBY.
The most famous story of Cuchulain is “Tain Bo Cuailinge” (Cattle Raid of Cooley) that takes place during the prolonged war between two countries, Ulster (North) and Connacht (West), caused by bluster and greed of the King and Queen of Connacht. Competing against the white bull owned and boasted by the King, the Queen wanted to acquire an equally powerful brown bull from neighboring Ulster. War started when Ulster refused to part with its brown bull. When the Ulster troops were cursed immovable under a spell, Cuchulain, off on the spell alone defended Ulster as the sole protector until there was a truce. My favorite Cuchulain’s escapade is his salmon leap, being chased all over Ireland by the formidable witch, around the Loop Head, the rocky seashore in Clare County, just like the famous cliff of Moher.
WBY"s thorough study of the Japanese Noh was impressive. He apprehended Jo-Ha-Kyu, philosophy of Noh, roughly translated to intro, break or develop, and acceleration, all actions or efforts should start slowly, speed up, then end swiftly rising to climax. His keen interests shown in the Noh masks reverberated in his London premier.
The play At Hawk’s Well is set by a dried up well on a desolate mountainside which is guarded by a hawk-like woman. An old man has kept camp there for fifty years, waiting to drink the miraculous waters from the well which occasionally rise up.
A call to the eye of the mind
A well long choked up and dry
And boughs long stripped by the wind
And I call a mind's eye
Pallor of an ivory face,
If lofty dissolute air,
A man climbing up to a place
心の眼もて見よ 泉は古く嗄れ果てて 樹枝は長く風にさらさるるを 心の眼もて見よ 象牙の如き青き面 すさみてもけだかき姿 ひとり登り来るを
Here arrives Cuchulain, knowing by hearsay that the waters bring immortality. The Old Man urges Cuchulain to leave, telling of his wasted lifetime there and how, even when the waters did rise up, he was thwarted by a sudden urge to sleep. Cuchulain, definitely in need, is determined to stay.
No comments:
Post a Comment