Grandson of Noh Innovator Continues Legacy to Share Allure of Noh with People of All Ages

- Mr. Nakamori, you're based at the Kamakura Noh Theatre, which stands in a quiet, leafy neighborhood next to The Great Buddha of Kamakura. We understand the theater was built by your grandfather.

Yes, but actually, my grandfather wasn't born into a Noh family. He was initially trained by pioneering female Noh performer Kimiko Tsumura when he was a student at the First Higher School (Ichiko), which was a predecessor to the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo. It was only after his training that he went on to become a Noh performer himself. As a Noh performer, he was a very free thinker, partly because of his peculiar background. My grandfather used to say that he dreamed of expanding Noh's audience beyond his apprentices and others already involved in the art form, which drove him to take on countless challenges. He traveled to junior and senior high schools to give live Noh demonstrations to students and was involved in the production of numerous Takigi Noh plays—outdoor performances illuminated by the light of a bonfire—throughout Kanagawa Prefecture.

Among these efforts, my grandfather also dreamed of building a Noh stage in his hometown of Kamakura, and after years of hard work, he was finally able to fulfill this dream in 1970. He also invented the unique performance style of the Kamakura Noh Theatre, where commentary is given before the performance, a practice we've continued for the better half of a century. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2008, but his originality and ingenuity live on in our experiments, which include performances like electronic Takigi Noh plays that combine digital music and smoke effects. My father and I share the same desire to expose more people to Noh performances, so we now project contemporary Japanese and English translations onto screens on either side of the stage so that everyone to enjoy the show. We also offer Noh lessons for the general public at the theater on weekdays. Despite Noh's reputation as a difficult classical art form, it is pretty accessible for anyone willing to learn more about it.

- When did you make your stage debut?

My first performance was at the age of 2 years and 9 months. Of course, I don't remember it at all, and my grandfather was probably helping me somewhere offstage. After that, I took to the stage in a variety of child roles, including Shanao—the childhood name of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a famous warrior in Japanese history. Recently, my nephew performed on stage for the first time, and I couldn't help but smile as I watched, wondering if I, too, had once been like that. I played my first shite—the leading role in a Noh play—when I was six years old.

- So, in short, you have been performing Noh since you can remember.

Yes, every day when I came home from kindergarten or elementary school, my father and grandfather would make me practice for ten or twenty minutes at a time. I remember there were two types of Noh practice: utai (chanting), the vocal section of music based on a book of chants called an utai-bon, and shimai (dance), which are the choreographic movements on stage. When I was still too young to read, I used to practice by parroting my father's chanting.

- Ten or twenty minutes is surprisingly short.

Both my father and grandfather wanted me to continue with Noh, so they scheduled my practice with a child's attention span in mind. Since we would spend roughly six months rehearsing for a single play, I was able to learn my part in short bursts over an extended amount of time. And I remember that my grandfather and father always made it a point to give me praise after my performances. Even if I made mistakes, they would applaud me and smile, saying, "Well done!"

They might have been concerned that I would start to dislike Noh if they didn't. [laughs] My family has traditionally been cast in lead shite roles, but the number of wakikata (supporting roles usually dressed as Buddhist or Shinto priests or other parts) has decreased in recent years. Now more than ever, the world of Noh needs to find people to carry on the tradition. Luckily, growing up, I had both my father and grandfather as my Noh teachers until university.

- What made you decide to study at the Faculty of Policy Management at SFC?

I figured that even if I ended up returning to a career in Noh later on, I still wanted to go to university. I was familiar with SFC because my father had taught at Shonan Fujisawa Middle and High School, and it was also an easy commute from my home in Kamakura. Looking into it, I found that the curriculum was flexible and would be easy to balance with my Noh training and performances. At Keio, I focused on courses in business administration and data analysis and studied the psychology of decision-making in Professor Ichiro Innami's research group. I found it very interesting how many valuable insights psychology has for understanding the characters in Noh plays and for stage design.

In fact, I hesitated going back into Noh and started looking for a job the year before I graduated. In the end, however, I ended up sticking to my original career plan of becoming a Noh performer. I have been blessed with the perfect environment to study Noh, having had my father and grandfather as teachers and the Kamakura Noh Theatre they built. And more than anything, I have come to love the world of Noh I have known and performed since childhood. After graduating from university, I became a live-in apprentice of Noh master Yoshiyuki Kanze, who also taught my father. I trained there for six years. It wasn’t until 2016 that I moved back to Kamakura as an independent performer.

- What challenges would you like to tackle as a professional Noh performer?

I want to create a better environment and work out ways of allowing more people to enjoy Noh, just as my grandfather wanted to do. It's always an exercise in trial and error, but my aim is to create performances that audiences can truly enjoy. This year, we adapted the popular Demon Slayer manga series for the Noh stage, which attracted a great deal of attention. The production was directed by Kyogen performer Mansai Nomura, who has often acted at the Kamakura Noh Theatre and who also appeared in the performance. Knowing the characters and storyline in advance can help people better appreciate Noh, so productions based on popular manga can be highly effective in introducing Noh to the general public. At the same time, I would like people to understand the splendor of so many classical works that have been refined over the course of nearly five centuries. We've installed screens on either side of the stage showing modern and English translations of the classics to expose as many people as possible to their allure.

Ever since Kan'ami Kiyotsugu and his son, Zeami Mototsugu, transformed Noh into a major art form in the 14th century, it has been revered over time as the culture of the warrior class. The formal Noh play was called gobandate, named for its five different categories—god, man, woman, mad-woman, and demon. Typically, these Noh plays would open with a performance of the okina ritual prayer and dance, and Kyogen pieces would be performed in the interludes. Incidentally, the Japanese word bangumi, which means radio or television program, originally comes from Noh/Kyogen. It would take an entire day from sunrise to sunset to complete a gobandate-style performance. And since there was no lighting in those days, the pacing was faster than it is now in order to catch the sunset in time. Today, these all-day performances are rare, with the exception of Shiki Noh, a Noh play sponsored by the Nohgaku Performers' Association, in which all five schools of Noh gather in one place for a Noh extravaganza. Most regular performances consist of one Noh and one Kyogen piece each, and in order for our modern audiences to better understand the beauty of the classics, we provide commentary at the beginning of each piece that explains the background and highlights of the story.

- Do you have any favorite songs that you've performed as a shite?

Last year, I performed the Dojoji, a difficult yet essential play in a shite's repertoire, and I'm planning to continue to tackle more intricate pieces like these. Of course, I would like to be good at performing every song if possible. But I'm rather large for a Noh performer, which makes me less convincing in the role of a woman, which requires a certain delicacy. On the other hand, I'm pretty good at expressing the rough nature of men and demons. That's why I'm taking on more female roles and practicing the supple qualities of the female form. Fortunately, I have the Kamakura Noh Theatre as my home, with its many Noh costumes and masks, so I believe that performances in front of a live audience will help me hone my art.

- The past few years must have been difficult, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing theaters to cancel so many Noh plays.

Yes, it's been tough, but we have been exploring the possibility of online performances for the past two years. In 2020, my father initiated a regional online event at the Kamakura Noh Theatre featuring local artists across a variety of genres, including jazz, classical, traditional gagaku music, and picture-story shows. Since most households now have access to the internet, we have tried to turn this hardship into an opportunity by providing chances for many people to experience Noh through video streaming and other means. The internet now allows us to have remote lessons as well as record and stream videos for audiences overseas without having to worry about physical restrictions.

I really wish my grandfather could have seen us today. As I mentioned earlier, my grandfather was a progressive man. He stunned his peers, who would often comment that he was decades ahead of his time. There are many things I would have liked to discuss with him about the future of Noh if he were still alive, but there's no use in lamenting the past. While many people still consider Noh to be an obscure art form, I intend to carry my grandfather's legacy forward. My father and I will continue to incorporate innovation into our performances to lower the barrier to entry. In fact, we've invited musicians of different genres to hold concerts at the Kamakura Noh Theatre. They say that they enjoy the atmosphere, and I hope that perspectives like these will help communicate the allure of Noh and its theater to a wider generation.

- Could you say a few final words to current students?

As someone responsible for the future of Japan's traditional performing arts, I hope that people will give the past its due. When we're young, we all yearn for newness and progress. And there's nothing wrong with that. I experienced the forefront of science and technology on a daily basis during my time at SFC, but that does not mean that the past is useless. It is not uncommon for new perspectives and innovations to emerge from a respect for the past. Noh contains hundreds of years of human wisdom concerning emotions and destiny, from which we can learn lessons for our modern lives. Through the promotion of Noh, I hope to become a vital force in this new era. And, of course, I hope that many Keio students will discover the appeal of Noh. You can start by watching a video online, for example. If you are even remotely interested, please go visit a Noh theater. You'll be amazed by the ambiance and sound that you can only experience at a live performance. At the Kamakura Noh Theatre, we have a Noh Museum with Noh masks and costumes on display and a cafe that is open on Saturdays, Sundays, and occasionally on Thursdays, so please feel free to stop by on your next visit to Kamakura. Everyone is welcome!

- Thank you for your time.

Kennosuke Nakamori
Noh Actor / Kanze School Shitekata Performer

Kennosuke Nakamori graduated from Keio University's Faculty of Policy Management in 2009. From a young age, he studied under his father, Kanta Nakamori, and grandfather, Shozo Nakamori, both of whom were shitekata Noh performers, performing as a kokata child actor for many Noh plays throughout his childhood. After graduating from university, he continued his training under Noh masters Yoshiyuki and Yoshimasa Kanze. In 2018, he rose to associate junshokubun status in the Kanze School as a shitekata Noh performer. He is a trustee of the Kamakura Noh Theatre Foundation, and in addition to performing on-stage at the Kamakura Noh Theatre founded by his grandfather, he also offers Noh lessons to the general public. Kennosuke is a rising star of Noh, committed to ensuring its endurance as an art form well into the future.

*This article originally appeared in the 2022 Autumn edition (No. 316) of Juku.