On August 19th, the Wakasa Noh Troupe Kuraza performs a ritual noh theater piece at the Autumn Festival of Uwase Jinja Shrine in the Kiyama district of Wakasa. The piece is called Kazai Noh (Noh to Pray for Gentle Winds) and is offered to the deities as a prayer for a safe harvest season without storms or typhoons.
About Noh
Noh is a traditional style of Japanese theater that features a ritualistic combination of chanted narration, music, and dance performed by actors donning masks to portray certain roles. The plays often revolve around warriors, lovers, and supernatural subjects such as ghosts or deities. When performed as an offering during a festival, it is called shinji noh (“ritual noh”).
Noh in the Wakasa Region
Records indicate that sarugaku, the performance art that later evolved into noh, was practiced in the Wakasa region as early as the mid-twelfth century, and that the Wakasa actors had connections with prominent troops from the Kinki region (Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama, Mie and Shiga Prefectures), such as the Yamato Sarugaku Troupe of Nara. It is said there were once four sarugaku troupe in Wakasa, including the Kuraza troupe. During the Edo period (1603–1868), the artform now known as noh theater flourished in the region under the patronage of the Sakai family that ruled the Obama domain. Many noh stages were built at shrines across the Wakasa region for the dedication of shinji noh performances, such as the one held at Uwase Shrine. The Kuraza troupe, which adapted to changes and survived to the modern era, continues performing there to this day.
