Hello. I am Kikunojo Onoe. The Tokyo performance of "Itseikai", a group that pursues new possibilities in dance and kyogen, is approaching. Ippei Shigeyama, a kyogen performer of the Shigeyama Sengoro School of the Okura School, and I have brought together our ideas.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Itseikai group, which is scheduled to perform for a week from August 8th at the Noh Theater in the Cerulean Tower in Shibuya.

1The positive response from "Cha-tsubo" in its first year and "Chidori" in its second year served as a springboard

I doubt there is any other co-organized fan club that has continued to be so active for such a long time.

Looking back, I think it was the great response we got from "Chidori" in our second year that gave the group momentum to continue. We created the Itseikai version of "Chidori," a classic Kyogen piece, by incorporating elements of dance. The collaboration between dance and Kyogen made it even more interesting, and we received very positive feedback from the Shigeyama family who came to see it, which gave us confidence.

The two of them have different approaches, which is why they get along well

Ippei said that the secret to their 15 years of success is "compatibility." Ippei said, "Compatibility doesn't mean that you get along because you're the same type of person, but rather that it's because you have different approaches to creation that something new is born between the two of you." I agree. Ippei tends to look at the stage from an actor's perspective, while I tend to look at it from a director's bird's-eye view.

I also have great respect for the predecessor performing art of Kyogen, and am constantly thinking about what I can add to it to create something new.

Experience with dialogue plays is a great help for straight plays

I have gained a lot from performing in a collaborative stage of kyogen and dance for 15 years. As an actor, I guess it would be the lines. In the new work of "Itseikai", there are a lot of lines. I have acted with Ippei in various roles, mainly in dialogue plays. I think that the accumulation of those lines was useful in the straight play "Shinpen Ito Sakura", which I experienced for the first time last fall.

From a director's standpoint, I believe that the greatest benefit of my work is that I have always thought about how to make the most of the space of the Noh stage, including its highlights, and have experimented to find new ways to do it. This has led to me coming up with ideas to make the most of those locations in other theaters and outdoors as well.

Kyogen, with its flute as the accompaniment, and Japanese dance, with its shamisen as the accompaniment

That said, in the beginning, it was a constant process of trial and error for both of us. Just as I struggled with the sheer volume of lines, I think Ippei was often perplexed. Kyogen is basically mostly horizontal movement, but dance involves vertical movement, so the way you move your body is very different to begin with.

In addition, Kyogen is mainly played with a flute, and the dancers move to the flute's melody. However, in dance, the music is mainly played with a shamisen. At first, Ippei had a hard time getting used to the big difference between Kyogen and dance, but now he does it perfectly and seems to enjoy performing it.

I think that this "fun" element is very important. Of course, the most important thing is that the audience enjoys themselves, but in order for that to happen, I think we performers must enjoy ourselves first. In that sense, I think that everyone involved in the Itseikai, from Ippei and myself to the composers, scriptwriters, and stage productions, is enjoying themselves.

There is no need to be unnecessarily conscious of "territories"

The process of creating a work is fun, but sometimes it can be tough. But I never aim for a fifty-fifty balance between Kyogen and dance. I don't have to be careful with either, and I put together scenes that naturally use Kyogen techniques and parts that use dance.

But I think the important thing is not to be overly conscious of "territories." If you start thinking about the realm of Kyogen and the realm of dance, it will simply be a boring performance where two traditional performing arts appear alternately.

I'd like to try a silent drama someday.

This year marks our 15th anniversary, and for the first time, we will be presenting our new work in a two-part format. It is also a big challenge to alternate new kyogen performances over the course of a week. We are also thinking of having our guests perform works that we have created up until now. We are currently in the process of refining the works for this summer, but in fact, we have a vague idea of ​​what we want to do in the future. Up until now, what "Itseikai" has done has basically been dialogue plays. We are thinking of taking a step further from that and doing something non-verbal, that is, something like a silent play without lines.

However, we would like to first successfully hold the 15th anniversary event in Tokyo, and then hold an event in Kyoto before the end of the year. We hope that everyone will come along.

◆ Performance details

[Schedule] August 2024th (Sun) - 8th (Sun), 18 *Closed on the 25st, 21 days, 7 performances in total

[Location] Cerulean Tower Noh Theater (26-1 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 2nd basement floor)

[Sponsored and Performed] Kikunojo Onoe/Ippei Shigeyama

<Part 8> August 18th (Sunday) 12:XNUMX AM start

"Sanban-san" by Kikunojo Onoe and Ippei Shigeyama / Work by the Itsei-kai "Dog" by Ukon Onoe and Shigeru Shigeyama

New work "Omuda" Part 1: Kikunojo Onoe, Ippei Shigeyama

<8> August 18th (Sunday) 4pm start

"Dog" by Itsuseikai, performed by Ukon Onoe and Shigeru Shigeyama / Kyogen "Demon tile" by Ippei Shigeyama and Hiromi Shimada

New work "Omuda" Part 1: Kikunojo Onoe, Ippei Shigeyama

<8> August 19th (Monday) 2pm start

Kyogen "Kaminari" by Ippei Shigeyama and Yoshikazu Shigeyama / Itseikai production "Itari Kitari" by Koshiro Matsumoto, Munehiko Shigeyama and Takanobu Sakaguchi

New work "Omuda" Part 1: Kikunojo Onoe, Ippei Shigeyama

<8> August 19th (Monday) 6pm start

Dance "Yoshiwara Sparrow" by Kikunojo Onoe and Kyo Onoe / Itseikai production "Itarikiri" by Koshiro Matsumoto, Munehiko Shigeyama, and Takanobu Sakaguchi

New work "Omuda" Part 1: Kikunojo Onoe, Ippei Shigeyama

<8> August 20th (Tuesday) 5pm start

Dance "Stone Bridge" by Kikunojo Onoe and Kikushiro Onoe / Itseikai's work "Ittari" by Takanosuke Nakamura, Munehiko Shigeyama, and Takanobu Sakaguchi

New work "Omuda" Part 1: Kikunojo Onoe, Ippei Shigeyama

<8> August 22 (Thursday) 1:XNUMX p.m. start

Kyogen "Snail" by Ippei Shigeyama, Yoshikazu Shigeyama, Hiromi Shimada / Itseikai production "Mirror Pine" by Sengoro Shigeyama, Ichitaro Nakamura

New work "Omuda" Part 2: Kikunojo Onoe, Ippei Shigeyama, Bokusetsu Onoe

<8> August 23rd (Friday) 5pm start

Dance "Renjishi" by Kikunojo Onoe and Itoko Hatori / "Kagami no Matsu" by Sengoro Shigeyama and Tsubame Nakamura

New work "Ofuda" Part 2: Kikunojo Onoe, Ippei Shigeyama, Shigeyama Shichigosan

<8> Saturday, August 24th, 12:XNUMX a.m.

"Dog" by Itsuseikai, starring Kikunojo Onoe and Ippei Shigeyama / Kyogen "Neonkyoku" by Ippei Shigeyama and Sennojo Shigeyama

New work "Omuda" Part 1: Kikunojo Onoe, Ippei Shigeyama

<8> Saturday, August 24th, 4pm start

"Ittari" by Itsusei-kai, performed by Kikunojo Onoe, Ippei Shigeyama, and Kengo Tanimoto / "Hashi Benkei" by Kikunojo Onoe and Yoshito Hatori

New work "Omuda" Part 2: Kikunojo Onoe, Ippei Shigeyama, Bokusetsu Onoe

＜8＞Sunday, August 25th, 12:XNUMX AM start

"Ittari" by Itsei-kai, Matsuya Onoe, Sennosuke Shigeyama, Kengo Tanimoto / Dance "Hashi Benkei" by Kikunosuke Onoe, Yoshito Hatori

New work "Ofuda" Part 2: Kikunojo Onoe, Ippei Shigeyama, Shigeyama Shichigosan

＜Eleventh＞ August 8th (Sun) 25pm start

"Coming and Going" by Matsuya Onoe, Sennosuke Shigeyama, and Kengo Tanimoto

Kyogen "The Water-Pickling Boy" Ippei Shigeyama, Shigeyama Shichigosan, Yoshikazu Shigeyama / New work "Ofuda" Part 2 Kikunojo Onoe, Ippei Shigeyama, Bokusetsu Onoe

Admission fee: 10,000 yen (*All seats reserved/tax included, seats cannot be reserved)

For tickets please use this form →https://forms.gle/ZJjx3qNcf6sKKXrR7

Ticket inquiries: TEL: 03-3541-6344 (Weekdays 10:00-18:00) MAIL: info@onoe-ryu.com

Kikunojo Onoe

■ Onoe Kikunojo III, fourth-generation head of the Onoe school

Born in 1976. He started studying under his father at the age of two and made his debut on stage at the age of five. In 2, he inherited the fourth head position of the Onoe school and took on the stage name Onoe Kikunojō III. He hosts his own recital, "Onoue Kikunojō no Kai," and the "Itsusei-kai" with Kyogen master Shigeyama Ippei. He also devotes himself to creating new works and has presented a wide range of works. He has directed and choreographed in a variety of genres, including new Kabuki, Hanamachi dance, the Takarazuka Revue, the OSK Nippon Revue, and ice skating shows "Hyouen" and "Luxe."

Part-time lecturer at Kyoto University of the Arts / Director of the Japanese Dance Association

Related Links

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