"Saiku Dedication Firelit Noh Play" produced by HITOHATA,INC. was held at the Saiku Heian no Mori (Meiwa-machi, Taki County, Mie Prefecture), on Saturday, November 4, 2023, featuring a performance in collaboration with digital art.

On a special stage in front of the main hall of the "Saiku Heian no Mori" located at the site of the national historic site of Saiku, a Noh play "Ema" and a Kyogen play "Kaki Yamabushi" were performed, both of which are associated with the Take Shrine located at Saiku, and digital art and other projection mapping images were projected onto the main hall to create an image of gods such as Amaterasu that appear in "Ema", thus combining traditional performing arts and The fusion of traditional performing arts and the latest video technology created a new cultural and artistic experience that transcended language barriers and could be visually and intuitively understood even by non-Japanese.

Outline of the event

[Name] Saiku Firelit Noh Play

[Dates] November 4, 2023 (Saturday) Doors open: 17:00 Concert begins: 6:00pm Scheduled end:7:00pm

(6:00pm-6:15pm Kyogen "Kakiyamabushi" 18:15-19:00 Han-noh "Ema")

[Venue] Saiku Heian no Mori (2800 Saingu, Meiwa-machi, Taki-gun, Mie Prefecture)

[Detail] The Noh play "Ema" and the Kyogen play "Kakiyamabushi", both of which are associated with the Bamboo Shrine in Saiku, will be performed on a special stage in front of the main hall in the "Saiku Heian no Mori" located at the site of the national historic site of Saiku, and digital art projection mapping images of the gods, including Amaterasu, who appear in "Ema", will be projected onto the main hall. The fusion of traditional performing arts and the latest video technology created a new cultural and artistic experience that transcends language barriers and can be visually and intuitively understood even by non-Japanese.

[Fee] 5,000 yen

[Organizer] Saiku Culture and Tourism Promotion Council

[Synopsis]

At the end of the year (today's Setsubun), an imperial envoy of the Emperor of Japan was sent to Ise Jingu Shrine to visit Saigu (present-day Saigu, Meiwa-machi, Taki County, Mie Prefecture). On the evening of Setsubun, the night of the New Year's Eve, an ema (votive tablet) hanging ceremony was held at a shrine (today's Take Shrine in Saigu), and the imperial envoy decided to watch the ceremony before returning to the capital.

While waiting at the shrine for the event to take place, an old man and an old woman came to pay their respects in the middle of the night.

The old man had an ema with a white horse on it, and the old woman had an ema with a black horse on it.

The white ema meant sunshine and the black ema meant rain, and according to which ema was hung at the shrine, the following year would bring more sunshine or more rain.

The two men argued about hanging their own ema, but in the end, they decided to hang their ema side by side.

Then they decided to pray for a year with half sunny days and half rainy days.

The two revealed to the angel who was watching them that they were gods, told him they would meet again at dawn, and disappeared.

At dawn, the male and female deities appeared, followed by Amaterasu. As they danced, the three deities reenacted the scene of "Amano-Iwato no Kakure" and celebrated the prosperity of the nation.

*Saikyu (Saigu, Saikuu, Itsuki no Miya): This term refers to the palace where a female member of the imperial family (Saio), who serves the deity of Ise in place of the emperor, resides.

[Performers]

Yamabushi Nomura Matazaburo

Nomura Noburo

Amaterasu (Amaterasu)

Okugawa Tsunenari

Tenrikio-no-Mikoto Nakasyo Yoshio

Amaterasu no Mikoto Ishii Hiroto

The Imperial Envoy Shohei Yano

Manabu Takeichi, flute

Otsujiro Okura, kotsuzumi

Otsumi Yamamoto Hisaya

Taiko Keisuke Inoue