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.
2012年3月19日月曜日
Our first performance at the Hachioji Assembly Hall
We were invited to the Hachioji Assembly Hall in order to help increase the number of people who came to watch the first session of the Hachioji city council.
It was the first time for Hachioji’s geisha to perform at the Hachioji Assembly Hall.
Around one month before that day, we decided which songs we would perform.
However after my geisha mother had the meeting for the event with the Assembly Hall’s staff, she changed some of the songs. I hadn’t played some of them, so I had to practice them hard.
The event was to be held on February 29th.
As I wrote on my previous diary, on February 23rd and 24th we had the Obake event, so I didn’t have enough time to practice for this event. Nevertheless somehow I was able to remember all of the songs.
On the day before the event, it started snowing.
The weather forecast predicted that it would snow heavily the next day.
I was anxious about the whether the train would be running on time the next day, because I always go to work by train.
At first I thought that I would stay at the Okiya, however I went back to my apartment.
The event was to start at 9:30am, which meant we had to arrive at the venue at 8:30am.
So I had to leave my apartment before 5am. It was very early.
I woke up to find the ground completely white with snow.
However the train bound for Hachioji was operating as usual. I felt relieved.
In case of any mishaps, I left my hair up from the previous day.
After I had put on my kimono, I still had enough time to go to the hair salon.
However when I was talking about that with my geisha sister, she said to me that I was able to keep my hair beautifully and that I didn’t need to go to the hair salon.
So I changed my plan.
When we left the Okiya, it was snowing heavily.
Since we had to bring a lot of things, including our instruments, to our performance, my geisha mother and another geisha sister, who is the geisha mother of another Okiya, took us to the venue in their cars.
Indeed it was very difficult to move about outside that day.
The scenery looked like a winter mountain village.
Somehow we were able to arrive at the Hachioji Assembly Hall, despite the heavy snow.
We quickly prepared and did a rehearsal.
The stage for our performance was set up in the center of hall, so we would be seen from all angles.
I got tense.
After the rehearsal, we formed a line at the main entrance of the hall and waited for the time to go on stage.
Finally the event started.
I felt that the event went very quickly but it was successful.
It was the first time for Hachioji’s geisha to perform at the Hachioji Assembly Hall.
Around one month before that day, we decided which songs we would perform.
However after my geisha mother had the meeting for the event with the Assembly Hall’s staff, she changed some of the songs. I hadn’t played some of them, so I had to practice them hard.
The event was to be held on February 29th.
As I wrote on my previous diary, on February 23rd and 24th we had the Obake event, so I didn’t have enough time to practice for this event. Nevertheless somehow I was able to remember all of the songs.
On the day before the event, it started snowing.
The weather forecast predicted that it would snow heavily the next day.
I was anxious about the whether the train would be running on time the next day, because I always go to work by train.
At first I thought that I would stay at the Okiya, however I went back to my apartment.
The event was to start at 9:30am, which meant we had to arrive at the venue at 8:30am.
So I had to leave my apartment before 5am. It was very early.
I woke up to find the ground completely white with snow.
However the train bound for Hachioji was operating as usual. I felt relieved.
In case of any mishaps, I left my hair up from the previous day.
After I had put on my kimono, I still had enough time to go to the hair salon.
However when I was talking about that with my geisha sister, she said to me that I was able to keep my hair beautifully and that I didn’t need to go to the hair salon.
So I changed my plan.
When we left the Okiya, it was snowing heavily.
Since we had to bring a lot of things, including our instruments, to our performance, my geisha mother and another geisha sister, who is the geisha mother of another Okiya, took us to the venue in their cars.
Indeed it was very difficult to move about outside that day.
The scenery looked like a winter mountain village.
Somehow we were able to arrive at the Hachioji Assembly Hall, despite the heavy snow.
We quickly prepared and did a rehearsal.
The stage for our performance was set up in the center of hall, so we would be seen from all angles.
I got tense.
After the rehearsal, we formed a line at the main entrance of the hall and waited for the time to go on stage.
Finally the event started.
I felt that the event went very quickly but it was successful.
2012年3月14日水曜日
The Obake event
The 23rd and 24th were the days of the Obake event in Hachioji.
If you read my previous posts about the preparation of the Obake event, you can see I was really looking forward to this event.
However it started with one hiccup.
On the day before the first day of the event, I promised my geisha sister, who I was pairing up with, that we would do the last practice together and we would not accept any requests for an after party from our customers on that day.
On that day my geisha sister and I were requested to attend different ozashiki parties.
My geisha sister was going to finish her ozashiki party before me.
However when I went back to the okiya, she was not there.
I called her but she didn’t answer.
I was waiting for her for about 1 hour, but she didn’t come back so I decided to go back home.
After I arrived at my apartment I received an email from my geisha mother.
In her email, my geisha mother said that my geisha sister was preparing for the Obake event just by herself.
When I read her email, I felt angry, because she didn’t know about our promise.
I called my geisha sister angrily, and I found out that my geisha mother had taken my geisha sister to the after party.
Unfortunately, my geisha mother was sitting next to my geisha sister, and helping her prepare for the Obake event, so I couldn’t express my anger on the phone.
After I rang off, my mind was hazy from the surprise, so I sent an email to my geisha sister that there was one thing which I wanted to talk to her about the next day.
When I met my geisha sister the next day at the Okiya I felt angry again. I started to explain how I had been disappointed the previous day as calm as possible.
However I suddenly felt very sad, and I started crying.
My geisha sister and the other geisha sisters, who also happened to be there, looked surprised, and my geisha sister apologized.
I was also surprised that my passion for the Obake event was greater than I thought.
All of the geisha who were going to be “Obake” inspected the venues beforehand from 1:30pm.
We were going to visit over 5 local Japanese restaurants and bars on each Obake event day.
At some restaurants, there were 2 rooms, so would perform 7-9 times in a day.
It was very important to check the venues in advance, because some bars were very small and we had to check the audio equipment setup in each room.
At that time, my geisha sister and I found out that the volume of our music tape was too low, so we recreated our tape after we finished looking the venues.
After we took a short break, my geisha sister and I started putting on our make-up.
Before that day, we researched each character’s make-up on the Internet, so I thought we could do it well.
After we were made up, my geisha sister helped me put on the Koken costume.
Then I helped my geisha sister put on her Sanbaso costume.
We looked like real Sanbaso and Koken.
After we had changed into our costumes, we tried dancing at the okiya.
I felt a little anxious whether we would be able to dance smoothly wearing our costumes.
However it was an unnecessary concern.
At about 5pm, we gathered on the second floor of the kenban, the geisha office, to see each group’s performance beforehand, because we would not be able to see each performance during the obake event.
When my group was performing, the audio player didn’t work well, so we could know that our audio player was not good. Each group had their own audio player to take with them for their performance. Since we discovered that ours wasn’t working we had to change it for a new one.
Our music tape was working fine.
On that day it rained in the morning, however it had already stopped by the afternoon.
We were delighted very much.
Finally the Obake event started.
Beforehand, we had decided the order of our performances; which group would start at which restaurant before moving to the next restaurant.
We had to complete our performance and leave each venue within 15 minutes before moving to the next venue.
However depending on the situation, we might have to change the order, so we emailed each other regarding when we would arrive and leave each venue so that we could know each group’s situation.
At the first venue, I got tense. However when the last performance finished I was really satisfied.
My geisha sister’s regular customers called us to the local bars after the Obake events on each day.
They said to us that our performance level and composition was the highest.
When I heard that I was really glad.
Although it started with one hiccup, I really enjoyed my second Obake event.
If you read my previous posts about the preparation of the Obake event, you can see I was really looking forward to this event.
However it started with one hiccup.
On the day before the first day of the event, I promised my geisha sister, who I was pairing up with, that we would do the last practice together and we would not accept any requests for an after party from our customers on that day.
On that day my geisha sister and I were requested to attend different ozashiki parties.
My geisha sister was going to finish her ozashiki party before me.
However when I went back to the okiya, she was not there.
I called her but she didn’t answer.
I was waiting for her for about 1 hour, but she didn’t come back so I decided to go back home.
After I arrived at my apartment I received an email from my geisha mother.
In her email, my geisha mother said that my geisha sister was preparing for the Obake event just by herself.
When I read her email, I felt angry, because she didn’t know about our promise.
I called my geisha sister angrily, and I found out that my geisha mother had taken my geisha sister to the after party.
Unfortunately, my geisha mother was sitting next to my geisha sister, and helping her prepare for the Obake event, so I couldn’t express my anger on the phone.
After I rang off, my mind was hazy from the surprise, so I sent an email to my geisha sister that there was one thing which I wanted to talk to her about the next day.
When I met my geisha sister the next day at the Okiya I felt angry again. I started to explain how I had been disappointed the previous day as calm as possible.
However I suddenly felt very sad, and I started crying.
My geisha sister and the other geisha sisters, who also happened to be there, looked surprised, and my geisha sister apologized.
I was also surprised that my passion for the Obake event was greater than I thought.
All of the geisha who were going to be “Obake” inspected the venues beforehand from 1:30pm.
We were going to visit over 5 local Japanese restaurants and bars on each Obake event day.
At some restaurants, there were 2 rooms, so would perform 7-9 times in a day.
It was very important to check the venues in advance, because some bars were very small and we had to check the audio equipment setup in each room.
At that time, my geisha sister and I found out that the volume of our music tape was too low, so we recreated our tape after we finished looking the venues.
After we took a short break, my geisha sister and I started putting on our make-up.
Before that day, we researched each character’s make-up on the Internet, so I thought we could do it well.
After we were made up, my geisha sister helped me put on the Koken costume.
Then I helped my geisha sister put on her Sanbaso costume.
We looked like real Sanbaso and Koken.
After we had changed into our costumes, we tried dancing at the okiya.
I felt a little anxious whether we would be able to dance smoothly wearing our costumes.
However it was an unnecessary concern.
At about 5pm, we gathered on the second floor of the kenban, the geisha office, to see each group’s performance beforehand, because we would not be able to see each performance during the obake event.
When my group was performing, the audio player didn’t work well, so we could know that our audio player was not good. Each group had their own audio player to take with them for their performance. Since we discovered that ours wasn’t working we had to change it for a new one.
Our music tape was working fine.
On that day it rained in the morning, however it had already stopped by the afternoon.
We were delighted very much.
Finally the Obake event started.
Beforehand, we had decided the order of our performances; which group would start at which restaurant before moving to the next restaurant.
We had to complete our performance and leave each venue within 15 minutes before moving to the next venue.
However depending on the situation, we might have to change the order, so we emailed each other regarding when we would arrive and leave each venue so that we could know each group’s situation.
At the first venue, I got tense. However when the last performance finished I was really satisfied.
My geisha sister’s regular customers called us to the local bars after the Obake events on each day.
They said to us that our performance level and composition was the highest.
When I heard that I was really glad.
Although it started with one hiccup, I really enjoyed my second Obake event.
2012年3月12日月曜日
The Setsubun event at Takao-san Yakuo-in (高尾山薬王院)
On February 3rd the “Setsubun-e (節分会)” event was held on Mt.Takao.
Mt.Takao is located in Hachioji city, so Hachioji’s geisha have a strong association with Mt.Takao.
The famous temple, Takao-san Yakuo-in (高尾山薬王院), is located at the top of Mt.Takao, and “Setsubun-e” is the annual prayer ceremony held at that temple.
The Setsubun (節分, Bean-Throwing Ceremony) is always held the day before the beginning of Spring in Japan.
The name literally means "seasonal division", but generally the term is only used for the Spring Setsubun, which is celebrated yearly on February 3rd.
On the Setsubun day, all over Japan we throw beans.
At Takao-san Yakuo-in, Hachioji’s geisha, some celebrities and the local people throw beans several times on that day.
On the actual day, I went to the okiya around 8am.
I was going to throw beans at 12am, 1pm and 2pm.
From 10am to 2pm, we were going to throw beans a total of 5 times, and Hachioji’s geisha were divided into 2 groups; one group from 10am-1pm and the other group from 12am-2pm.
I was a member of the second group.
We left the okiya at 9:45 in order to take the cable car bound for the top of Mt.Takao.
When we arrived at the top of Mt.Takao, it was not so cold, however I thought that I would feel cold after we finished throwing beans 3 times outside.
When we were waiting for our turn, the members of the first group came back to the room where we were waiting.
We were planning to eat lunch in the intervals of the bean throwing.
Indeed it was not enough time to eat lunch.
I heard that at 12am and 1pm, the most people would gather at the venue to pick up the beans.
So both groups were going to throw beans together at that time.
It was my first Setsubun-e event, so when I was waiting for my turn, I was excited.
Hachioji’s geisha, some celebrities and the local people who were going to throw the beans gathered at the assigned meeting place and all moved to the main building of the temple.
When I saw that many people were waiting around there, I was surprised.
After we were guided into the main building, we sat on the floor in Japanese Seiza style.
After a while some Buddhist priests quietly entered the building and the ceremony started.
They read the sutras and the names of the people who were sitting on the floor.
While were were listening the sutras, the beans, which were in colorful Masu, were distributed to us.
I was surprised when I saw some people started eating their beans while the Buddhist priests were reading the sutras.
(Indeed it is a custom to eat beans on the Setsubun day as a way of praying for our health, however I didn’t think that people ate them while listening to the sutras.)
After we finished listening to the sutras, we went out from the main building in order to start throwing the beans.
Many people were waiting outside in order to catch the beans.
I threw my beans with a smile.
After throwing all of the beans, Hachioji’s geisha, some celebrities and the local people who took part in the bean throwing gathered at the stairs in front of the gate of the temple to take photos.
We repeated the above sequence several times.
I really enjoyed my first Setsubun-e event as a geisha.
Mt.Takao is located in Hachioji city, so Hachioji’s geisha have a strong association with Mt.Takao.
The famous temple, Takao-san Yakuo-in (高尾山薬王院), is located at the top of Mt.Takao, and “Setsubun-e” is the annual prayer ceremony held at that temple.
The Setsubun (節分, Bean-Throwing Ceremony) is always held the day before the beginning of Spring in Japan.
The name literally means "seasonal division", but generally the term is only used for the Spring Setsubun, which is celebrated yearly on February 3rd.
On the Setsubun day, all over Japan we throw beans.
At Takao-san Yakuo-in, Hachioji’s geisha, some celebrities and the local people throw beans several times on that day.
On the actual day, I went to the okiya around 8am.
I was going to throw beans at 12am, 1pm and 2pm.
From 10am to 2pm, we were going to throw beans a total of 5 times, and Hachioji’s geisha were divided into 2 groups; one group from 10am-1pm and the other group from 12am-2pm.
I was a member of the second group.
We left the okiya at 9:45 in order to take the cable car bound for the top of Mt.Takao.
When we arrived at the top of Mt.Takao, it was not so cold, however I thought that I would feel cold after we finished throwing beans 3 times outside.
When we were waiting for our turn, the members of the first group came back to the room where we were waiting.
We were planning to eat lunch in the intervals of the bean throwing.
Indeed it was not enough time to eat lunch.
I heard that at 12am and 1pm, the most people would gather at the venue to pick up the beans.
So both groups were going to throw beans together at that time.
It was my first Setsubun-e event, so when I was waiting for my turn, I was excited.
Hachioji’s geisha, some celebrities and the local people who were going to throw the beans gathered at the assigned meeting place and all moved to the main building of the temple.
When I saw that many people were waiting around there, I was surprised.
After we were guided into the main building, we sat on the floor in Japanese Seiza style.
After a while some Buddhist priests quietly entered the building and the ceremony started.
They read the sutras and the names of the people who were sitting on the floor.
While were were listening the sutras, the beans, which were in colorful Masu, were distributed to us.
I was surprised when I saw some people started eating their beans while the Buddhist priests were reading the sutras.
(Indeed it is a custom to eat beans on the Setsubun day as a way of praying for our health, however I didn’t think that people ate them while listening to the sutras.)
After we finished listening to the sutras, we went out from the main building in order to start throwing the beans.
Many people were waiting outside in order to catch the beans.
I threw my beans with a smile.
After throwing all of the beans, Hachioji’s geisha, some celebrities and the local people who took part in the bean throwing gathered at the stairs in front of the gate of the temple to take photos.
We repeated the above sequence several times.
I really enjoyed my first Setsubun-e event as a geisha.
2012年2月20日月曜日
The preparation for the Obake(お化け) event: Part 2
As for the Sanbaso costume, we started looking for one on the Internet.
Furthermore my geisha sister called a rental kimono and traditional Japanese costume shop.
However it was a little expensive.
So while I was waiting for the starting time of an ozashiki party at the okiya, I looked up some other shops online and made some inquiries.
Finally I found a well priced shop with a kind owner which is located in Nagoya.
We also started to practice dancing the Ayatsuri-sanbaso and the Matsuken-samba.
We didn’t want to spend a lot of money for the event, so we didn’t receive lessons from a professional teacher and just practiced by watching and following some Youtube videos.
We used some of the choreography which we found on Youtube.
However since the length of each group’s performance would be 5 minutes or less, we created our original dance.
After choreographing our dance, I edited the music CD which we would use to accompany the dance.
Meanwhile in between our practice sessions for the dance, we went to a shop in order to buy some cheap props which we needed for our performance.
We also used some corrugated cardboard which was going to be thrown away as refuse.
I felt very comfortable with the preparation of the event, because my geisha sister is very flexible and easy to work with.
For example; if we had decided a time to practice our dance, but we suddenly thought of a good idea for some props for our performance, we simply changed our schedule and created the props instead.
If she wasn’t such a flexible person, I would have become impatient with the slowness of the preparation process for the event.
I remember that I also felt comfortable preparing for last year’s event and able to enjoy the entire preparation process.
I think that my oldest geisha sister, who I paired up with last year, is also a flexible person.
Last year, each group prepared many bags of candy for the customers.
However at the meeting for this year’s event, we decided to give candy only to the customers who wear fancy-dress.
I hope many customers will come the venues wearing interesting costumes.
Until now, my geisha sister and I have had several practice sessions together.
However my poor dance skill was a big problem.
I will play the part of the Koken, who will suddenly start dancing the Matsuken-samba in a comical way.
For me the samba step is very difficult.
Even though another geisha sister, who used to be a professional dancer, had taught me how to dance the samba, I still can’t do it well so I need more practice.
As for the Ayatsuri-sanbaso’s dance, my geisha sister choreographed it by herself.
I feel that a person who has a good dance skill, is able to dance any song well even if it is their first time to dance a song.
My partner last year was as good a dancer as this year’s partner.
This year’s Obake event will be held on February 23rd and 24th.
So, we don’t have enough time to practice.
Nevertheless I want the customers to enjoy the Obake event and our performance.
Furthermore my geisha sister called a rental kimono and traditional Japanese costume shop.
However it was a little expensive.
So while I was waiting for the starting time of an ozashiki party at the okiya, I looked up some other shops online and made some inquiries.
Finally I found a well priced shop with a kind owner which is located in Nagoya.
We also started to practice dancing the Ayatsuri-sanbaso and the Matsuken-samba.
We didn’t want to spend a lot of money for the event, so we didn’t receive lessons from a professional teacher and just practiced by watching and following some Youtube videos.
We used some of the choreography which we found on Youtube.
However since the length of each group’s performance would be 5 minutes or less, we created our original dance.
After choreographing our dance, I edited the music CD which we would use to accompany the dance.
Meanwhile in between our practice sessions for the dance, we went to a shop in order to buy some cheap props which we needed for our performance.
We also used some corrugated cardboard which was going to be thrown away as refuse.
I felt very comfortable with the preparation of the event, because my geisha sister is very flexible and easy to work with.
For example; if we had decided a time to practice our dance, but we suddenly thought of a good idea for some props for our performance, we simply changed our schedule and created the props instead.
If she wasn’t such a flexible person, I would have become impatient with the slowness of the preparation process for the event.
I remember that I also felt comfortable preparing for last year’s event and able to enjoy the entire preparation process.
I think that my oldest geisha sister, who I paired up with last year, is also a flexible person.
Last year, each group prepared many bags of candy for the customers.
However at the meeting for this year’s event, we decided to give candy only to the customers who wear fancy-dress.
I hope many customers will come the venues wearing interesting costumes.
Until now, my geisha sister and I have had several practice sessions together.
However my poor dance skill was a big problem.
I will play the part of the Koken, who will suddenly start dancing the Matsuken-samba in a comical way.
For me the samba step is very difficult.
Even though another geisha sister, who used to be a professional dancer, had taught me how to dance the samba, I still can’t do it well so I need more practice.
As for the Ayatsuri-sanbaso’s dance, my geisha sister choreographed it by herself.
I feel that a person who has a good dance skill, is able to dance any song well even if it is their first time to dance a song.
My partner last year was as good a dancer as this year’s partner.
This year’s Obake event will be held on February 23rd and 24th.
So, we don’t have enough time to practice.
Nevertheless I want the customers to enjoy the Obake event and our performance.
2012年2月9日木曜日
The preparation for the Obake(お化け) event: Part 1
The "Obake"(お化け) is an annual fancy‐dress event held in the "Karyukai"(花柳界), the geisha world, which has a long history dating back to the Edo-period.
For more detail about this event, please read last year’s blog post.
Last year, which was my first Obake event, I paired up with my oldest geisha sister. I really enjoyed not only the event itself but also the entire preparation process.
After last year’s Obake event, I made a promise to another geisha sister that we would pair up this year.
At first, my geisha sister and I were planning to perform Kyogen(狂言), the traditional comical Japanese drama which is generally performed along with Noh in the intermission between Noh acts on the same Noh stage.
However last December, when my geisha mother and all of my geisha sisters were talking about this year’s Obake event, someone suggested a good idea for our performance, so my geisha sister and I changed our plan.
We decided to perform “Ayatsuri-sanbaso(操り三番叟)”, a Nagauta song which is sometimes used in Kabuki.
In the Ayatsuri-sanbaso performance, the Sanbaso is like a puppet which is controlled by a person who is called Koken.
We decided that my geisha sister would perform the Sanbaso role, and I would perform the Koken role.
However we thought that it would not be so interesting if we imitated the Ayatsuri-sanbaso.
So, we thought of an original idea; during our performance, I would suddenly start dancing comically after I finished controlling the Sanbaso.
We decided the length of each group’s performance would be 5 minutes or less.
So we started working on our original story.
At first we looked for an example Ayatsuri-sanbaso performance on Youtube, which we were able to find.
We decided to use a part of the performance that we found on Youtube.
I also found a well-known, interesting song, titled Matsuken-samba, on the same website.
Even though that song is a little old, I thought that most of the customers who would attend the Obake event would know the song, so they would be able to enjoy it.
Above all, I imagined that it would look very funny if the taciturn Koken suddenly started comically dancing the Matsuken-samba.
Last December, my geisha sister and I went to Asakusa in order to buy the Sanbaso and Koken costumes.
We could buy a cheap samurai wig and Hakama for the Koken, however we couldn’t buy the Sanbaso costume, because it was very expensive.
While we were walking around Asakusa, we talked about what we could do for the Sanbaso costume.
We agreed that if we would not be able to find a good priced costume, we would create it by ourselves or change our plan for the Sanbaso costume.
After the start of this year, I started creating a music CD for our performance.
Last year, I also created it for the Obake event, so I thought that it would be easier this year.
However, there were some troubles with creating this year’s CD. My computer wouldn’t read the CD that I borrowed from my geisha sister which I was planning to copy some songs from. I had to find the songs on Youtube.
Despite the problems, in the end I could make a good CD for the Obake event.
For more detail about this event, please read last year’s blog post.
Last year, which was my first Obake event, I paired up with my oldest geisha sister. I really enjoyed not only the event itself but also the entire preparation process.
After last year’s Obake event, I made a promise to another geisha sister that we would pair up this year.
At first, my geisha sister and I were planning to perform Kyogen(狂言), the traditional comical Japanese drama which is generally performed along with Noh in the intermission between Noh acts on the same Noh stage.
However last December, when my geisha mother and all of my geisha sisters were talking about this year’s Obake event, someone suggested a good idea for our performance, so my geisha sister and I changed our plan.
We decided to perform “Ayatsuri-sanbaso(操り三番叟)”, a Nagauta song which is sometimes used in Kabuki.
In the Ayatsuri-sanbaso performance, the Sanbaso is like a puppet which is controlled by a person who is called Koken.
We decided that my geisha sister would perform the Sanbaso role, and I would perform the Koken role.
However we thought that it would not be so interesting if we imitated the Ayatsuri-sanbaso.
So, we thought of an original idea; during our performance, I would suddenly start dancing comically after I finished controlling the Sanbaso.
We decided the length of each group’s performance would be 5 minutes or less.
So we started working on our original story.
At first we looked for an example Ayatsuri-sanbaso performance on Youtube, which we were able to find.
We decided to use a part of the performance that we found on Youtube.
I also found a well-known, interesting song, titled Matsuken-samba, on the same website.
Even though that song is a little old, I thought that most of the customers who would attend the Obake event would know the song, so they would be able to enjoy it.
Above all, I imagined that it would look very funny if the taciturn Koken suddenly started comically dancing the Matsuken-samba.
Last December, my geisha sister and I went to Asakusa in order to buy the Sanbaso and Koken costumes.
We could buy a cheap samurai wig and Hakama for the Koken, however we couldn’t buy the Sanbaso costume, because it was very expensive.
While we were walking around Asakusa, we talked about what we could do for the Sanbaso costume.
We agreed that if we would not be able to find a good priced costume, we would create it by ourselves or change our plan for the Sanbaso costume.
After the start of this year, I started creating a music CD for our performance.
Last year, I also created it for the Obake event, so I thought that it would be easier this year.
However, there were some troubles with creating this year’s CD. My computer wouldn’t read the CD that I borrowed from my geisha sister which I was planning to copy some songs from. I had to find the songs on Youtube.
Despite the problems, in the end I could make a good CD for the Obake event.
2012年2月2日木曜日
My first performance for the big spending customers of one Japanese credit card company
Some of Hachioji’s geisha were called to perform at a party hosted by a Japanese credit card company for their important customers at a famous hotel in central Tokyo.
Since most of our customers are local people from Hachioji and it’s surrounding area, it was rare to be called to a party in central Tokyo.
In addition, it was our first opportunity to perform that credit card company’s customers.
We realized that it was not just an ozashiki party, but a big opportunity to get new customers.
Prior to the party, my geisha mother had a meeting with the staff of the credit card company, and after the meeting, she said to us that the party would be more important than we had expected.
She added some additional joint practice session for the party.
She also added one new song which I had not played before.
I practiced hard for all of the songs for the party almost everyday, however I couldn’t spend so much time practicing, because January is the busiest month in the year.
Even after the last joint practice session, I still felt anxious.
I thought that if I was nervous at the party, I might forget parts of the song.
On the actual day, I went to the hair salon early in the morning.
We were scheduled to leave Hachioji at 1pm.
We could arrive at the hotel earlier than scheduled.
There were three stages of the party; the first part was our performance to open the party,
the second part was entertaining the customers by talking with them and pouring them drinks while they were enjoying dinner, and the third part was the main part, a famous Rakugoka’s performance.
The entire schedule of the event, which including rehearsals for both Hachioji’s geisha and the Rakugoka had been fixed well before the event.
In the rehearsal, we could only check our positions on the stage, do a sound check and confirm the flow of our performance. I wanted to rehearse all of the songs, however we couldn’t.
Our opening set was determined by how long it took for all customers to finish entering the venue. If all customers entered the venue quickly some of the songs would be cut from our performance.
We couldn’t decide our exact set in advance, as the credit card company’s staff were to let us know our finishing time just 5 minutes before we would have to finish playing.
I thought that it would be very difficult for me to notice the sign to stop playing, because I didn’t have any previous experience of playing the shamisen under such circumstances.
Furthermore, I was also not familiar with playing the shamisen professionally at such a big event.
Finally our turn came.
My geisha mother started playing the shamisen, even though only a few customers had started entering the venue.
I was playing the shamisen feverishly, so I couldn’t notice the sign to stop playing in 5 minutes.
Therefore I was busy tuning my shamisen in order to play the next song which was actually cut, because the staff had already given the sign to stop playing in 5 minutes.
My geisha mother whispered to me not to tune my shamisen as she started to play another song. However I couldn’t tune my shamisen back to the original position.
While I was playing the next song, I tried again and again, however I couldn’t tune it properly
so I decided not to play the shamisen, and just pretended to play it.
After we finished playing, my geisha mother said to me in a stern voice that I must notice the sign to stop playing even if I am concentrating on the performance.
After our performance, we entertained the customers before the Rakugoka performance.
Most of them had had no experience talking with geisha.
So I tried talking to them with a bigger smile than usual.
They didn’t notice my mistake, however I regretted it from the bottom of my heart.
We left the hotel around 9pm.
My geisha mother didn’t say anything more about my mistake.
Nevertheless I decided to practice harder.
Since most of our customers are local people from Hachioji and it’s surrounding area, it was rare to be called to a party in central Tokyo.
In addition, it was our first opportunity to perform that credit card company’s customers.
We realized that it was not just an ozashiki party, but a big opportunity to get new customers.
Prior to the party, my geisha mother had a meeting with the staff of the credit card company, and after the meeting, she said to us that the party would be more important than we had expected.
She added some additional joint practice session for the party.
She also added one new song which I had not played before.
I practiced hard for all of the songs for the party almost everyday, however I couldn’t spend so much time practicing, because January is the busiest month in the year.
Even after the last joint practice session, I still felt anxious.
I thought that if I was nervous at the party, I might forget parts of the song.
On the actual day, I went to the hair salon early in the morning.
We were scheduled to leave Hachioji at 1pm.
We could arrive at the hotel earlier than scheduled.
There were three stages of the party; the first part was our performance to open the party,
the second part was entertaining the customers by talking with them and pouring them drinks while they were enjoying dinner, and the third part was the main part, a famous Rakugoka’s performance.
The entire schedule of the event, which including rehearsals for both Hachioji’s geisha and the Rakugoka had been fixed well before the event.
In the rehearsal, we could only check our positions on the stage, do a sound check and confirm the flow of our performance. I wanted to rehearse all of the songs, however we couldn’t.
Our opening set was determined by how long it took for all customers to finish entering the venue. If all customers entered the venue quickly some of the songs would be cut from our performance.
We couldn’t decide our exact set in advance, as the credit card company’s staff were to let us know our finishing time just 5 minutes before we would have to finish playing.
I thought that it would be very difficult for me to notice the sign to stop playing, because I didn’t have any previous experience of playing the shamisen under such circumstances.
Furthermore, I was also not familiar with playing the shamisen professionally at such a big event.
Finally our turn came.
My geisha mother started playing the shamisen, even though only a few customers had started entering the venue.
I was playing the shamisen feverishly, so I couldn’t notice the sign to stop playing in 5 minutes.
Therefore I was busy tuning my shamisen in order to play the next song which was actually cut, because the staff had already given the sign to stop playing in 5 minutes.
My geisha mother whispered to me not to tune my shamisen as she started to play another song. However I couldn’t tune my shamisen back to the original position.
While I was playing the next song, I tried again and again, however I couldn’t tune it properly
so I decided not to play the shamisen, and just pretended to play it.
After we finished playing, my geisha mother said to me in a stern voice that I must notice the sign to stop playing even if I am concentrating on the performance.
After our performance, we entertained the customers before the Rakugoka performance.
Most of them had had no experience talking with geisha.
So I tried talking to them with a bigger smile than usual.
They didn’t notice my mistake, however I regretted it from the bottom of my heart.
We left the hotel around 9pm.
My geisha mother didn’t say anything more about my mistake.
Nevertheless I decided to practice harder.
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