From July, 1 to February, 28 the shows at Gion Corner are discounted for foreign, 2500 yen for an adult instead of 3150 yen. This show gives you a glimpse of traditional arts and music of Kyoto. The Foundation Gion Corner is working with the Maiko of Gion district, this is how every night a different Maiko comes intervene in a part of the show. The room can accommodate a hundred people and it is pretty well settled in these red velvet sofas.
The show lasts about 1 hour and includes 7 parts :
- The Tea Ceremony 茶道 : A master of Tea will show on a podium the Japanese traditional method to prepare tea. The Wa Kei Sei Jaku are the four principles of the Tea ceremony created by Sen Rikyu, the principle Chado in kanji 茶道, which means the way of tea. 2 volunteers in the room are selected before the show starts to taste the tea and Japanese confectionery, the tea is prepared according to the Ryurei style, i.e. sitting on chairs. The gestures of the master are slow and precise, gentle and strong at once. We feel the rigor and sensitivity of every gesture ;
- The Koto 箏 : Koto is a kind of Japanese harp that is used in traditional Japanese music such as Kabuki and Bunraku. It is a 13 string harp originated from China and imported to Japan in the seventh century. The Tea ceremony ends slowly, the curtain of the scene in front of the audience opens on 2 instrumentalists. The music is soft and delicate ;
- The Ikebana or Kado 華 道, the Japanese floral art : While the music of Koto still hangs in the air, the master of Ikebana began her floral composition. Ikebana is a Japanese ancestral art of floral arrangement to create a linear construction, rhythm and color harmony. This is quite different floral composition seen in Europe, especially in the Japanese art of design, there are no superfluous, it is much to the point ;
- The Gagaku 雅 楽 : the curtain falls after the end of the music of Koto and opens a few moments later on a group of musicians and a masked character. Gagaku 雅 楽 which literally means refined , elegant music, represents an ancient Japanese music, one of Japan's court. It was introduced to Japan in the fifth century and originates from China and Korea. The masked character performs an ancient dance while music is played ;
- The Kyogen 狂言 : it is a traditional Japanese comedy show. It's comical enough even if we do not understand the language, the actors are funny. Here is the story of a master who must be away from home and will leave alone his two servants. He used to note during his absence that his servants took the opportunity to drink all his sake. Then the master this timedecide to tie them. But the two servants are smart and cunning, they will still manage to drink the sake of their master, even attached ;
- The Kyomaï 京 舞 : it is a special dance of Kyoto performed by Maiko. It's a slow dance to show the elegance and refinement of gestures. When we attended the show, the Maiko who performed called Ichitomi. She conducted two dances, a traditional dance and other special from Gion where the feelings of Maiko are also shown ;
- The Bunraku 文 楽 : it is a Japanese puppet theater that dates from the seventeenth century. The puppets used are large sizes and manipulated by view. In our show, there was only one puppet and was manipulated by three people. It tells a famous love story between Kichiza and Oshichi (the puppet represents Oshichi). Kichiza must leave the city to find a precious sword that his master lost. Meanwhile, the parents of Oshichi want to marry her to an ugly and not very honest character named Boutei. Oshichi discovers that the sword was stolen by Boutei but she did not have time to warn Kichiza before leaving the city. Unfortunately all the doors of the city are closed and the only way to bring back Kichiza to give him the sword, is to climb to the lookout tower and ring the bell against fire. Kichiza hears it and comes back. Thus Oshichi gives him the sword and explain the misunderstanding abouther future marriage by force with Boutei ;
Well! If you come to Kyoto, please enjoy the promotional rate of the tourist season and go to watch the presentation of traditional Japanese performing arts at Gion Corner.
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