Kongo Tatsunori, grandmaster-designate of the Kongo school of noh, will perform the title role in the play "Tsunemasa" at the Yokohama Noh Theater on Dec. 22. Tsunemasa was a military commander in the 12th century who had a talent for playing the biwa lute. Kongo will use a real biwa on stage for an effect featured in the play's "koshiki" (old style) variant to be staged that day.
"Tsunemasa" belongs to the genre of plays known as shura noh, which usually features military commanders of the Genji and Heike clans as protagonists and tells of sorrow and impermanence through the depiction of battles involving the clans.
This play is being performed as the third of the Yokohama Noh Theater's series of six shows, from September through March, mainly featuring shura noh pieces that focus on the elegant aspects of warriors, such as playing musical instruments and creating poems, rather than their valiant characteristics. Called "Elegance and Impermanence -- The World of Shura Noh," these shows are enhanced by music performances related to the featured noh pieces.
The first show in September staged "Atsumori," a play about Taira no Atsumori, who is a master of the Japanese flute. The second show in October featured "Satsuma no Kami" (The Lord of Satsuma) and "Tsuen" (The Tea Priest), which are both from the kyogen comedy repertoire and associated with military commanders. Noh and kyogen complement each other, and both are performed on noh stages.
"Tsunemasa" is based on "The Tale of the Heike." The protagonist, Taira no Tsunemasa, is a nephew of mighty warlord Taira no Kiyomori.
The story is set after Tsunemasa's death in the Ichi-no-tani battle with the rival Genji clan. His departed soul appears late at night at Ninnaji temple in Kyoto when the monk Gyokei prays for his soul to rest in peace. The monk offers Tsunemasa's ghost the lute that used to belong to him, and the ghost plays the instrument and elegantly dances.
Kongo, who turned 30 this year, first played the role when he was in his teens. While the role usually calls for a mask to be worn, at that time, Kongo performed without wearing a mask in a style called "hitamen." Ever since, he has liked to play the role repeatedly.
"The relatively short piece has no warlike atmosphere. It has many highlights of dancing, too," Kongo said. "This piece effectively highlights Tsunemasa's artistic aspects."
A performance on the biwa and other instruments will be given before "Tsunemasa."
"I hope the music performance will help the audience better enjoy the world of the story," Kongo said.
New aspiration at 30
"I'm aware people view me in a different way from when I was in my 20s," he said. "When I'm in my 30s, I want to improve myself as a noh performer, of course, and at the same time, I want to train performers of the next generation as well."
Kongo is also active in performing new works of noh, such as "Oki-no-miya" staged in Kyoto and Kumamoto in October and in Tokyo in November.
The play is based on a story by Michiko Ishimure, who died in February.
Costumes were made by artists including Fukumi Shimura, a dyeing and weaving master who is also a designated living national treasure.
Kongo played the lead role of Amakusa Shiro in the new piece.
"This is a work created by two artists who cherish their awe of nature," he said. "I want to perform this play whenever possible."
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