コラム
第177回 Experience Kagura, Japan’s Oldest Performance Art
Vuong Van Cuon
PhD Student
It was a beautiful day, last spring. After sightseeing the wonderful scenery in Miyajima, my supervisor, Prof. Kuroki, took us to visit a Kagura village located in mountain side of Hiroshima prefecture, near to Shimane prefecture. It was a small and peaceful village.
Before watching Kagura performance, Prof. Kuroki gave us the summary of the play in English so that I, a person who did not speak Japanese, could understand the contents. At the beginning of the play, with the cheerful music and the enchanting dance of the actors, I imagined I was living in the play with the characters. When the play was in the climax, a spider monster appeared. I really felt scared and worried about the safety of the leader of the village. In the end, I was very happy when the monster was destroyed.
The costumes were really heavy, however, the performers danced very well while wearing them. Though the costumes and the masks were huge and heavy, the character playing the monster changed very quickly. It made me to be so excited. After the play ended, the kindness actors gave us a try on costumes and performance masks.
When I was in Vietnam, I heard many interesting and wonderful things about Japan. It is wonderful to experience them. I love Japanese culture as well as Japanese people. I would like to thank my professor and Hiroshima University for giving me the opportunity to study and have wonderful experiences here.
