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Traditional arts

Traditional arts in Kansai

Issues for the 21st Century and the Arts' International Significance

AMANO Fumio
Professor, Division of Studies on Cultural Expressions, Graduate School of Letters, Osaka Universit

　0a_butai_2.jpg Each of the last seven or eight years has begun for me by attending a one-man performance of rakugo by KATSURA Beicho (whose 60th and final solo performance was given in 2002, ending a tradition that dates back to 1971) at Sankei Hall in Osaka on January 2, followed by special Noh performances at the Otsuki Nohgakudo Theater (also in Osaka) on January 3. As I also end the year by going to an all-star performance at the Minamiza in Kyoto, this time of year is filled with theater going and appreciation of the traditional performing arts. My specialty being Noh research, one might consider this activity to be quite ordinary. Nevertheless, it is only by virtue of living in the Kansai region that I am able to have such exposure to high-quality traditional performing arts, including Noh, kyogen, kabuki, and rakugo, at this and other times of the year. （Photo: Kawamura Nogakudo）
 

Traditional arts (Top)

　While we usually take for granted the existence of these traditional arts, on reflection it is really quite rare for a single genre to have both new and old forms coexisting, each being performed by specialists. It seems this phenomenon can be seen only in Japan. In dramatic theater, for example, while you can see NINAGAWA Yukio and NODA Hideki performing contemporary plays on stage, there are also traditional forms such as nogaku (Noh and kyogen), which originated in the 14th century; kabuki and ningyo joruri (puppet drama), which came of age in the 17th century; and the shinpa and shingeki forms of drama that emerged in the 20th century. If this had been Europe, the rise of kabuki and puppet drama would have supplanted nogaku, and shingeki would have caused the downfall of kabuki and puppet drama. But such is not the case. This also holds true for music and dance in their myriad forms. And it is not only the genres that coexist. There are also Noh actors, kabuki actors, and contemporary drama actors, each performing solely in their own speciality. In the Western world, contemporary stage actors will also perform classical theater. Have you ever heard of an actor who performs only Shakespeare?

　In light of this, the traditional Japanese performing arts that we so take for granted occupy quite a unique place among the arts in world history. I don't know how these arts became so stratified or why they are able to coexist so well, but the reason that the classical arts can still remain alive and vibrant even when new forms emerge is because they have something that the new performing arts lack. That something can never be replaced. In fact, whenever I watch kabuki or a contemporary drama, I realize there are certain things that can only be expressed in Noh, and other things, in contrast, that Noh drama simply cannot express. Yet within the traditional Japanese performing arts are contained many lessons from which modern people have much to learn.
　As times change, however, the language and techniques of these traditional forms of entertainment are destined to become strange to modern people. The greater this estrangement grows, the closer the art is to dying out. In our fast-changing contemporary society, the probability of this happening can only increase. There is no guarantee even that Noh or kabuki, which have survived the centuries, will continue to exist. We must ask what can be done for the traditional performing arts in the 21st century to help them escape this fate.

　This was the topic addressed recently in a talk by playwright YAMAZAKI Masakazu. YAMAZAKI called for efforts to generate a wider understanding of the traditional performing arts outside the hallowed inner circles of their dedicated audiences. I couldn't agree more. But surely people have been doing this all along? Noh could not have survived for 700 years and kabuki for 400 years if it were not for the efforts of their performers to gain the public's understanding amid the changing social environment from generation to generation. Tradition has nothing to do with conservatism or immutability. The real meaning of tradition lies in active adaptation to the times and giving people what its unique expression alone can provide. Perhaps what is required today of the traditional performing arts is a more conscious response to this challenge.
　To return to my earlier comment, the Kansai area is not the only place where one can see high-quality performances of the traditional arts. It goes without saying that this is also possible in Tokyo. Tokyo and Kansai are fated to be constantly compared, and traditional performing arts are no exception. So what are the differences between East and West, or rather, what are the unique features of the arts in the Kansai region? This is not an easy question to answer, but in my limited experience with Noh and kyogen, I would have to say that the performing arts here in Kansai are a part of life rather than an intellectual pursuit. And audiences know what to look for. This implies that the traditional arts are indispensable to a living culture and that there are countless knowledgeable critics. The traditional performing arts of Kansai have always been supported in this way, which is to say they possess a universality that can also reach out to people around the world.