Noh Play

I was checking my mail box one day and found an invitation. One of the tutors from my dorm invited everyone staying in the dorm to go for a Traditional Noh Play in Osaka Gakuin University. Admission is free because the lead singer is his girlfriend's grandfather. And the 80 years old ojiichan (grandfather) extends his invitation to all international students.

Initially I did not pay any notice to the invitation. Did not plan to go since it was on a Monday night. I thought I would be really busy but somehow, managed to get the day off and hence headed off to Osaka for the Noh Play. It was an opportunity not to be missed. Noh Plays here are extremely expensive. So, if the show wasn't free, we won't be able to afford to pay for the tickets. Or rather we won't want to pay a bomb to see a performance which we won't understand.

Noh is a traditional Japanese Play. Something like the chinese opera. The main singer will be singing in some old and very difficult to understand Japanese. It is difficult for Japanese to understand the contents of the play. Therefore, it was impossible for us, beginners to understand. But, it was still fun to go see the traditional play. Very nice, very cultural.. a good experience.

This photo is not really clear but generally the person (lead singer) is dressed in a 20-30kg Kimono. And he wears a mask. So he is not able to see where he is going and thus moves around the stage slowly while singing. I don't understand the play at all.


Noh Play
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And then, here we have the lead singer. He is 80 years old. A lawyer and a lecturer in Osaka Gakuin University and actively involved in the Noh Play group. His whole family is very talented. His granddaughter (my tutor's gf) is a soprano singer.


Noh Lead Actor
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And finally, the whole bunch of International Students.. until today, we are still trying to figure out what the play was all about??!!


International Students
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