My big dream was to wear my own geisha wig.
Hachioji’s geisha usually just have their hair set at a hair salon.
We only wear the geisha wig when our customers request us to wear the geisha wig and also in January which is a special month.
I didn’t have my own geisha wig, because I’m a “Zikata”, who is a shamisen player, and the “Zikata” generally doesn’t wear the geisha wig.
However I started taking traditional Japanese dance lessons about 1.5 years ago, so I started to want to have my own geisha wig.
One day, I asked my geisha mother about having my own geisha wig, but she refused my offer.
She said to me that it was too early for me to have my own geisha wig, because my dance level was not good enough yet.
I felt sad, however I could understand what she wanted to say.
Nevertheless, several months later my geisha mother said to me that I could get my own geisha wig.
She said to me that she and the Hachioji Neighborhood Association had decided that at this year’s Hachioji festival, all of the Hachioji geisha would wear a Tekomai (手古舞) costume and Tekomai geisha wig. Therefore I could finally get my own geisha wig which I could have set in the Tekomai geisha wig style for the Hachioji festival.
* Tekomai Sample YouTube video
My geisha mother and I decided a day when we would visit and order my geisha wig from a geisha wig shop in Ginza.
On March 3rd, my geisha mother and I went to the famous geisha wig shop which has over 100 years of history.
The owner of that shop is 84 years old and is a famous craftsman.
At first he told us something that surprised my geisha mother and I .
He said that he was thinking about closing down his shop at the end of April.
I realised that my geisha wig would be the last work for him. My heart was overwhelmed with emotion.
He measured me for my own geisha wig which took about 1 hour.
While he was taking my measurements, my geisha mother went out to eat lunch and he and I talked about many things, so I started to like his personality.
After I ordered the wig, my geisha mother and I enjoyed shopping in Ginza for a while, and I suddenly remembered that I had to buy some necessary items which my geisha sister had asked me to buy.
I called the geisha wig shop and told him that I would go back to the shop.
On the phone, he said he would leave a message with his staff in case he was out for lunch when I arrived at his shop,
However when I arrived at his shop, I caught him in front of his shop as he was just about to leave, so I asked him to lunch.
While we were having lunch, we talked more about his life, family and his way of thinking, so I struck a chord with him.
After lunch, I went to Hachioji, because I had an ozashiki party.
I was really looking forward to receiving my own geisha wig, and meeting him again.
2012年4月23日月曜日
2012年4月12日木曜日
My first public “Narimono” performance at the National Theatre of Japan
I have been learning the Narimono for about 1.5 years and last July I did my first public Narimono performance in Ota-ku with some of Hachioji’s geisha.
For more details, please read the previous post I wrote about that event.
When I performed in Ota-ku the theatre was not so big, however this year I made my debut at the National Theatre of Japan.
The National Theatre of Japan has 3 halls where Kabuki, Bunraku and traditional Japanese dance are usually performed.
Having a chance to perform at the National Theatre of Japan is a privilege for those involved in traditional Japanese cultural arts.
The performance, which is called “Onwa-kai (音和会)”, is an annual public performance, but is usually held at a different theatre.
Onwa-kai is a concert where Nagauta singers, shamisen, Japanese flute, Narimono and Koto players come together to perform Nagauta songs.
Hachioji’s geisha participate in the Onwa-kai as part of the Narimono section with other Narimono players.
Narimono refers to Japanese percussion instruments such as the Taiko (drum), Kotsuzumi (small hand drum) and O-kawa (large hand drum). I played the Kotsuzumi with some of Hachioji’s geisha.
It was decided that Hachioji’s geisha would perform “Tsurukame (鶴亀)”, which is a long Nagauta song and difficult to memorize all parts of the song.
Since I’m very busy this year, it was difficult to spend time memorizing the Tsurukame song.
However I caught influenza at the beginning of March which meant I had to stay at home for 5 days so I was able to spend time practising the Tsurukame song.
Furthermore, after I recovered from influenza I had already planned to go back to my hometown and stay with my parents for 3 days so I was also able to continue memorizing it there.
Indeed I had to spend time memorizing it every day, right up until the day after I came back to Tokyo, because I had to attend a rehearsal that day.
Up until the rehearsal I had been practicing to a recorded tape, so I felt it was very different to when I played with the other performers.
It was my first time to play with a Koto.
I recorded the rehearsal and listened to the recording almost everyday.
Since the performance was to be held on March 22, there were only 10 days remaining after the rehearsal.
On the actual day, I went straight to the National Theatre of Japan from my home, because the National Theatre of Japan is located nearer to my home than Hachioji.
Two days before the Onwa-kai my geisha mother lent me a kimono, which I took home before the performance.
When I arrived at the National Theatre of Japan, the other Hachioji geisha hadn’t arrived yet.
Soon after my arrival my Narimono teacher and her teacher arrived and I helped them to unload their Narimono.
Before the performance the we had our last Tsurukame joint practice session.
However at that practice session, all tsuzumi players made a big mistake.
I felt anxious, so I practiced to the recorded tape again and again in the waiting room.
My narimono teacher’s teacher brought some tsuzumi and their students also brought their own tsuzumis.
He said that we should use only the best tsuzumi for the performance.
So before our turn we had him check our own tsuzumi, and if they were not good enough we lent his tsuzumi.
Our turn came at 2pm.
My shamisen teacher also came to see our performance, so I felt a little pressure.
On the stage it was hot and bright from the lights.
I didn’t look at the audience and gazed at a vacant seat, so that I was able to concentrate on my performance.
I didn’t make any mistakes. It was my first time to perform all of the parts of Tsurukame perfectly.
I felt very happy and satisfied.
The next Narimono event will be held within the next month, which is an annual performance in Ota-ku, so I have to memorize new 2 songs for that event.
For more details, please read the previous post I wrote about that event.
When I performed in Ota-ku the theatre was not so big, however this year I made my debut at the National Theatre of Japan.
The National Theatre of Japan has 3 halls where Kabuki, Bunraku and traditional Japanese dance are usually performed.
Having a chance to perform at the National Theatre of Japan is a privilege for those involved in traditional Japanese cultural arts.
The performance, which is called “Onwa-kai (音和会)”, is an annual public performance, but is usually held at a different theatre.
Onwa-kai is a concert where Nagauta singers, shamisen, Japanese flute, Narimono and Koto players come together to perform Nagauta songs.
Hachioji’s geisha participate in the Onwa-kai as part of the Narimono section with other Narimono players.
Narimono refers to Japanese percussion instruments such as the Taiko (drum), Kotsuzumi (small hand drum) and O-kawa (large hand drum). I played the Kotsuzumi with some of Hachioji’s geisha.
It was decided that Hachioji’s geisha would perform “Tsurukame (鶴亀)”, which is a long Nagauta song and difficult to memorize all parts of the song.
Since I’m very busy this year, it was difficult to spend time memorizing the Tsurukame song.
However I caught influenza at the beginning of March which meant I had to stay at home for 5 days so I was able to spend time practising the Tsurukame song.
Furthermore, after I recovered from influenza I had already planned to go back to my hometown and stay with my parents for 3 days so I was also able to continue memorizing it there.
Indeed I had to spend time memorizing it every day, right up until the day after I came back to Tokyo, because I had to attend a rehearsal that day.
Up until the rehearsal I had been practicing to a recorded tape, so I felt it was very different to when I played with the other performers.
It was my first time to play with a Koto.
I recorded the rehearsal and listened to the recording almost everyday.
Since the performance was to be held on March 22, there were only 10 days remaining after the rehearsal.
On the actual day, I went straight to the National Theatre of Japan from my home, because the National Theatre of Japan is located nearer to my home than Hachioji.
Two days before the Onwa-kai my geisha mother lent me a kimono, which I took home before the performance.
When I arrived at the National Theatre of Japan, the other Hachioji geisha hadn’t arrived yet.
Soon after my arrival my Narimono teacher and her teacher arrived and I helped them to unload their Narimono.
Before the performance the we had our last Tsurukame joint practice session.
However at that practice session, all tsuzumi players made a big mistake.
I felt anxious, so I practiced to the recorded tape again and again in the waiting room.
My narimono teacher’s teacher brought some tsuzumi and their students also brought their own tsuzumis.
He said that we should use only the best tsuzumi for the performance.
So before our turn we had him check our own tsuzumi, and if they were not good enough we lent his tsuzumi.
Our turn came at 2pm.
My shamisen teacher also came to see our performance, so I felt a little pressure.
On the stage it was hot and bright from the lights.
I didn’t look at the audience and gazed at a vacant seat, so that I was able to concentrate on my performance.
I didn’t make any mistakes. It was my first time to perform all of the parts of Tsurukame perfectly.
I felt very happy and satisfied.
The next Narimono event will be held within the next month, which is an annual performance in Ota-ku, so I have to memorize new 2 songs for that event.
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