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.