Gion Odori - Act 6 - The Final Frontier

1st November 2006 - By now you've perhaps had your fill of geisha and maiko....but (and this is coming from someone that was never a huge fan... even though he indulged in the traditional geisha stalking of Gion on a Friday evening) it was a good show, and one that I would recommend to all that are in Kyōto in early November. And now it was coming an end...

ACT SIX - VIEWS OF THE EAST (第六景　祇園東小唄)

The sixth and final act begins with all of the performers now standing together for the first time. Maiko and geisha - and centre stage, the aged geisha who played the mischevious lady in Act Four.

The lights come up...

To the left are the five geisha, their kimono, make-up and hanakanzashi subdued and elegant...

To the right, the four maiko (sorry fourth one - out of shot), their outfits inspired by the colours of spring and autumn their makeup softer, lighter, and their hanakanzashi bright and beaming.

Time often stood still, as if it were captured on film...

Each moment in the dance is careful, deliberate, beautiful and yet distant. This is not an invitation to join with the world of the geisha...

But rather an opportunity to see that world, as through the looking glass... forever to be but a moment of stillness, before the exhalation of breath.

Who are these works of living art? A life-line of Japanese culture, or a dying anachronism? They might not share much with the world of most tourists that come to Japan (or indeed for the majority of Japanese themselves), but like golden leaves that tease the city streets and hills outside, they provide a colour and depth to the scenery that makes their absence so much more palpable.

And now for the last of the videos...once again - it can at best just give a sense of the dance. The one thing that I take from the video is that one shouldn't think of this dance as "synchronised" brilliance. Each geisha and maiko remain distinct...


I hope you have enjoyed my little photo-blog description of the Gion Odori... This was taken some time ago now - and of course every year is a different performance, but I hope that it has given you inspiration to attend one of the full performances. They aren't cheap (at 4000 yen per ticket with tea... but it's an experience you certainly will struggle to find anywhere else). There are a number of such performances throughout the year, so look around before you go to see when the nearest dance is scheduled.

Finally - I have to once thank my wife, T-chan, for her beautiful camera work... her steady hand and keen eye was our saviour. Now, as we stepped from the theatre, we knew that our time in Kyōto was coming to an end...

Gion Odori : Act 4 and 5... Of Pride and Eating Flowers

1st Nov, 2006 - Well, I guess after my efforts describing the previous dance - which were just a little on the sarcastic side - I'll try and do this one a bit more justice. Though as you'll see it really is screaming out for the treatment as well.

ACT FOUR - TENGU  OF ATAGO (第四景  愛宕の天狗)

This dance is a little difficult to describe - however, I'll give a little history first. Tengu are mythical creatures that are a strange amalgm of human-shaped monster and bird. They are most famously depicted with red faces and long, long noses (check out the first photo above). The legend is that they are able to fly, and this has been  modified in some versions whereby they hold a magical hauchiwa, or fan made of feathers which have the properties of growing (and shrinking) the size of the nose... clearly a good ability for a Tengu... and also raising huge winds. I assume that flying is part of that as well.

Atago is a mountain near Kyōto, and is famous for a particular Tengu named Tarōbō - the first great Tengu. However, Atago is also believed to have a general concentration of Tengu, as it appears in many Japanese folk tales.

This dance focuses on one of the Tengu, proud and strong - and a rather crusty lady who has plans for that fan of his. Firstly Tengu espies what he thinks a young beautiful lady.

But not all is as it seems....

See the following short vid (once again, appologies about the quality).



In the end, the old lady makes use of the momentary disorientation (maybe even a change-the-pants moment) to do a now-ya-have-it-now-ya-don't trick with the Tengu's magical fan. Fooled again! I suppose there's a lesson here for the conceited and proud out there... don't try and pick up old ladies! To be honest, we can't remember the reason why the fan was so important, but at the end of the day - why let details get in the way of a good story.


ACT FIVE - MOTTENOHOKA (第五景  もってのほか)

The fifth dance of the show was the most abstract, and in many ways most beautiful... like moments come to life out of a painting. The entire dance was based around the Chrysanthemum flower. But here we have the mystery... mottenohoka means "out of the question"... and both T-chan and I now sit here and ponder... what the hell does that mean?....

The flower's supposedly known for the fact that it is edible... but alas, there was no flower eating during the show. Instead I will show you a series of photos taken during the dance (no video - and no story).

My only guess...if you could call it that... is that the dance surrounds the whole question of to eat, or not to eat the flower. The answer is... apparently... out of the question.

But how about eating a fan then?...

Looks like she'll just have to find some a Mister Donuts like the rest of us...

It was definitely the most artistic of the dances - with only the one solitary dancer - and the Chrysanthemum (and fan). I'm not sure now why we didn't take a video of it. Perhaps because this dance was so much more subdued than the others. Kinda regret it now... ?:-(

By the way - the Chrysanthemum is not only the Imperial symbol (aka the Chrysanthemum Throne) - but is also the symbolic gift for Mother's Day in my first home, Australia. What about elsewhere in the world?

Gion Odori - Act 2 and 3 : Of Rice and Love

1st November, 2006 - This is the second post on the Gion Odori dance. By now things were in full swing, and it is hard to take photos when you're enjoying a show. Ever the dilemma - do you record for posterity, or just sit back and relax and take it all in. Still, we managed to take at least a few photos along the way. It should be noted that Gion Odori has, with the exception of the last dance, a different program each year. The one thing that is always written about the Gion Odori is the originality of the dance routines each year. Alas I have only one year to go by, but yes it felt original.

ACT 2 - OKOME (第二景　稲穂)
Okome is the Japanese term for uncooked rice. This whole performance is about the shinto rites blessing the growing of rice - of course rice is an important component of life in Japan (it's called gohan when it's cooked, which is also synonymous with the more general word for meal). This is a dance celebrating early spring.

There was a directness, and seriousness that really made for an interesting dance here. It's not the first thing I would have thought of when thinking "Geisha dances".


I have to admit that I get a little confused here... as the theme is all about hanakanzahsi... but the main ornament here appears to be the shinto inspired boushi. From what I understand, thanks to Melissa Chasse's great work is that maiko wear stalks of rice in their hair at the beginning of the year.

Hmmm did I mention the "double trouble" aspect of it. Synchronised shinto. Now why hasn't that taken on?

Actually when I first saw this, I had assumed that the stray locks were just coincidental... it wasn't until I had seen both in the photos that I realised that it was intentional. Actually, it was most probably better when it wasn't part of the costume design.

ACT THREE - SHIDAREZAKURA (第三景　撓垂桜)

This was a somewhat melancholy piece - with the name coming from the weeping sakura tree (or cherry tree... though they don't have anything to do with cherries that we eat, though they come from the same prunus genus... ok too botanical I know). It's the story of an older woman (hmm - I bet casting for that was a joy) waiting her lover...

Waiting... waiting.... man'o'man! I'm sure I left him somewhere around here...now what did he look like?...

Hmm.... shouldn't have had that extra 10 gyoza for dinner....

Errr... that last bottle of sake isn't going down too well either....

Ah... I know.. a little light reading will help... a letter from my lover. That will give me time for the alka-seltzer to kick in. For crying out loud this guy can write... blah blah blah...

Seriously, my arms are getting tired... you mean I have to wait hundreds of years before Twitter will come to my rescue with a 140 character limit!... now where was I?... that's right... "your eyes shine with the moon's soft remembered light, in the dark your smile a memory o light... oh, and could ya please buy some milk and bread on your way home, and did I mention the guys were thinking of having a night out this Saturday....."

At times like these - a sister needs her sister. Younger sister that is. "Sis... hold this will ya... ?"

"Did he say he was going out this saturday... I told him we had plans for this Saturday...oh, he's going to pay... big time" Even in olden times revenge was a dish served cold. Unless of course it was a dish of firey stick-it-up-ya-... well you know...

It's times like these that an elder sister needs to impart some sage advice. "Next time... bring your own lamp...".  Ah, it truly left me warm inside.

Alas... the lot of a younger sister is to forever suffer the slings and arrows of her big sister... "It's most probably a good thing that I didn't mention the other night when I bumped into her boyfriend at the club...."

Ok... I might not have gotten my interpretation exactly right... but I'm pretty sure it's captured the essence of the dance. For more info... check out the bad video below.

And by the way... if I haven't mentioned it before... I have to thank my wife T-chan for taking such wonderful photos... my hands are too crazy shaky to take decent photos in this light. Thanks T-chan... I luvs ya! PS... could you please buy some parmesan on your way home from Zumba tonight....

Gion Odori - Act 1: Maneki

1st November, 2006 - Gion Odori is one of the set occassions throughout the year where you can watch complete geisha (geiko)/maiko dances. The dances showcase the respective prowess of the different okiya (geisha houses)... in this case the Gion Odori is performed by the Gion Higashi Kabu-kai. The dance was first performed in 1952, and each subsequent year there is a new theme (2006 was the 49th performance). This year, the theme was all about the Hanakanzashi through the Four Seasons (花簪四季彩) - where hana kanzashi is the hair ornaments worn by the maiko. If anyone wants to see a really good source of information on all things geisha, check out Mboogiedown: Japan... though unfortunately she hasn't been blogging for a couple of years now.

The Gion Kaikan is a cinema that is used occassionally for such events... and it has the feel of antiquity when decked out for the dances. I get the feeling when used as a cinema, it just has the feel of old - not antique. Our seats weren't too bad, about 1/3 back, and to the left (near the musicians). As the lights dimmed down, the curtain raised and music began it's slow, rhythmical beat.

Musical accompaniment... this is what comes of old geisha. A chilling thought

ACT 1 - MANEKI (第一景　まねき)

The first act/dance centred around the maneki hanakanzashi, which are worn in December of each year - at this time, the maiko would traditionally visit the Minamiza Theatre. They wear two maneki, or blank tags, where the Kabuki actors can write their autographs... you can see them below and in the photo right at the start of this post.

Umeha

Fumiki and Umeha

This dance is about a young maiko's experience of overcoming her shyness to ask her favourite Kabuki actor for his favour....beyond that, the detail was lost on me.

Masayo... looking like she's riding an imaginary motor-bike

Masayo was the highest ranking maiko at the Gion Higashi Kabu-kai, and hence had the main starring role in the opening scene.

Masayo... a little more demure

I've thrown (with some considerable embarrassment) some of our really bad digi-cam video in to give a better feel for the dance... The quality's woeful, the cameraman (me) shaky, the zoom atrocious... but it was just something we did on the spur of the moment. This was taken back in the days when video off small compacts was... well let's face it... bad. Hope it helps you feel the performance.