Machikado-No-Geino: Street Performance
Step back in time to experience street trading 300 years ago. Once in the 'arena'
you'll find you're no longer in the Japan of the 21st century but amongst people selling
goods in the Edo Period --- men and women clad in kimono, geta (wooden
clogs) or waraji (straw sandals), topped with traditional Japanese hairstyles.
You may have the illusion of having wandered into a film studio, but in no time at all
you'll feel as if you are one of the genuine Edo townspeople browsing through the
open-air street stalls. If so, you have been successfully immersed in their world and
you're sure to have a wonderful time. Don't worry, though, if you're a bit shy and feel
embarrassed by their cheerful, dazzling smiles. Just remember that they are play-acting
old-time street vendors, who made a living by peddling their wares. This is why they're
so eager to attract you, their prospective customers, as their livelihood depends on you!
The OSADA School's "Machikado-No-Geino" is an all-day, open-air performance
participated in by the audience. The setting is the mid-Edo Period (early 18th century)
about a hundred years after the Tokugawa regime replaced the previous Toyotomi regime
in 1603. People were enjoying peace in the middle of a stable administration that lasted
as long as 260 years, and traders selling goods through performing arts were at the
height of their prosperity. Kyoto, then the capital of Japan, was a good place for
them to hone their skills and compete against one another, and these traders' burning
enthusiasm for selling their goods elevated mediocre street performances to the
level of a fine art. In summer, for example, vendors peddling goldfish, uchiwa paper
fans, wind chimes, young morning glory plants, or whatever, came round to sell
their goods. Their simple beckoning calls developed into catchy, melodious tunes,
and their spiels addressed to prospective customers were polished into a narrative art.
Machikado-No-Geino is the revival of such theatrical performances, conjuring up
images of the 'good old days'.
The actual program of Machikado-No-Geino consists of two parts: the performance on
the stage and the trading on the ground. A variety of charming dramatizations performed
on the small stage include a human puppet show, janome umbrella selling, yobikomi
beckoning drum-playing, tamasudare bamboo screen magic, and so forth,
but these are not ordinary performances. Actors hurl witty remarks at the audience,
tactfully drawing responses so that in the end the stage and the audience are blended
into one. Around the stage you can see several vendors selling various items: chiyogami
paper for origami, nostalgic wooden toys, furoshiki cloths, ema
pictorial offerings, etc., and also food, such as the sweet-smelling awamochi
rice cakes, cooked to a rhythmical song and grinding dance. Once your attention has been
drawn to their goods, the friendly vendors begin their bargaining theatrics with lively,
interactive communication, jokes and gags. It doesn't matter whether you buy their goods
or not, but you will quickly realize how witty and knowledgeable they are and how fun
it is to barter with them.
The Osada School is a unique drama group founded as "Mugi-No-Kai" in 1951 by OSADA Jun.
His ambition was to develop a drama which could be enjoyed by everyone regardless of age,
and create a lingering impression on its audience that would have them pondering long
after its finish. Based on his strong belief that educational methods should vary
from person to person since everyone has different characteristics, he researched the
education of actors, and established a system of creative performances called the Osada
System. Since his death, the Osada System has been carried on by his successors, such as
AWAZU Moto and MIDORIKAWA Akiko, and has proved to be effective in producing a number of
wonderful actors. The origin of Machikado-No-Geino goes back to 1975, when the school
attempted to revive the performing arts of Edo street traders. It was not an easy task
since there is no script for this. Actors vend their goods via theatrical entertainment,
just as old-time vendors did, and yet their customers are not their fellow actors but
just the audience. The realistic and spontaneous nature of the drama therefore presents
the actors with a real challenge.
What Machikado-No-Geino is pursuing is not merely the techniques of those vendors.
It was in order to survive that the street traders devoted themselves to the practice of
their art, and if they failed to draw customers, it meant no selling, no survival.
This is why they keenly polished their skills and truly cherished their customers.
Osada School's actors today must acquire this survival spirit of the Edo traders before
mastering their artistic performances, and so they are trained in a very stringent
manner. With regard to this, Jun Osada writes in the preface of Machikado-No-Geino
(Street Performance) published in 1980:
"It was six hundred years ago in the Muromachi Period (15th-16th C.) that mere peddlers,
who had fought drought, rain, snow and strong winds, started to cultivate their art form
in order to sell their wares. Their dedicated discipline bore fruit over time, with its
flowers starting to bloom in the Edo Period (1603-1868). The superb street performances
of those vendors were entertaining to watch and listen to. They first charmed people with
their art, and then proceeded to successfully sell their goods. Therefore I call them
'Gei-Akindo' (a vendor using drama to sell goods)."
So, if you can sense the spirit of Edo street traders in the performance of
Machikado-No-Geino, the drama it's founder intended to create will have been triumphant.
Performance Information
Once-a-year live performance!
Date: 18 (Fri.) Oct. - 20 (Sun.) Oct.
Time: 10:30 - 16:00
Admission: \2,000, \1,000 (Child). The \2,000 advance ticket includes a \300 shopping coupon, and the \1,000 ticket includes a \200 shopping coupon.
Inquiries: 075-211-0138 (Sorry, but unfortunately we have no English-speaking staff)
S. Sakae
Kyoto Interview Series
Life in Kyoto (LIK) recently interviewed Randy Channell、a Canadian who has been residing
in Japan for 18 years, half of which he has spent in Kyoto. Initially attracted to Japan
to study marital arts, Mr. Channell soon found himself immersed in another world.
Through his next door neighbor, a tea ceremony teacher, Channell discovered the beauty,
art and ritual of serving Japanese tea, or Cha-no-yu (茶の湯). Today Channell
passes on this knowledge and experience of tea to Japanese learners in an interesting
mix of English and Japanese.
Cha-no-yu is an ancient practice that originated in the monasteries of Zen Buddhism
about 600 years ago. Today, it is regarded as a form of artistic discipline for the
cultivation of mental composure and elegance in manners. For the beginner, overcoming
the barriers to understanding "tea" can seem difficult at first. Like all traditional
arts, there are innumerous rules to abide by, and each procedure or movement must be
performed with grace and precision. From learning how to serve a bowl of tea to getting
used to sitting seiza (正座) or kneeling position, the tea ceremony is at once
as fascinating as it is challenging.
The following interview is part of a new series profiling foreign nationals living in
Kyoto who are doing something unique or different from the stereotypical working
gaiikoku-jin.
Q. I have heard that you were a big fan of martial arts expert, Bruce Lee. You went from Canada, your home country, to Hong Kong to become an actor. Is this true? And would you tell me how many movies were you in?
A. Yes, I'm a huge fan of Bruce Lee. And I did go to Hong Kong to study kung-fu. I became an actor (if you can call it that!) with the introduction of my kung-fu sensei. I think I appeared in about 25 movies and TV shows.
Q. 25?! Did you have a speaking part and can we see any of your movies on video?
A. Yes, of course, I had speaking parts in some movies. I have seen some of the movies I appeared in at video stores in Japan, but I don't think there are many available now, because that was 20 years ago and another life!
Q. How many years did you work as an actor in Hong Kong and of the movies you appeared in, which one was your favorite?
A. I worked in HK for about six years. I'd say my favorite movie was the one I did with Chuck Norris called "Forced Vengeance". This was the first big budget martial arts movie shot in HK that was backed by an American production company. The Japanese name is Jigoku-no-Hukushu (地獄の復讐) and I've seen it in rental video stores before.
Q. After HK you came to Japan to learn martial arts, right?
A. Yes, I originally came to study Kendo（剣道）and Iai-do (居合道) (*These are traditional Japanese martial arts of swordsmanship. In Kendo you face an opponent with a bamboo sword called a shinai. Iai-do normally has no opponent and uses a katana (Japanese sword). Later on I began to study other martial arts such as Kyudo, Naginata and Nito Ryu.
Q. Did you know anything about tea at that stage?
A. No, I didn't know much. I mean, of course, I had seen tea before but I knew absolutely nothing about what it really involved. In fact, I had no real interest in it then.
Q. What made you become interested in Cha-no-yu then?
A. When I first came to Japan, I was busy studying Budo (Japanese Martial Arts). However, I felt that something was missing as my life was only focused on doing these things. Too much Yin and not enough Yang so to speak. (Called In-yo (陰陽) in Japanese). I suppose it was in order to balance these that I took up the study of tea. There is a saying in Chinese and Japanese "Bunbu Ryodo" (文武両道). It means something like following the cultural and martial ways together. So, I decided to practice both arts.
Q. How did you find a tea ceremony teacher or an institution?
A. Before moving here to Kyoto I used to live in Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture. I was very lucky because the lady who lived next door to me happened to be a tea ceremony teacher. Her husband was a retired English professor. Although I didn't speak much Japanese at that time, she nonetheless explained everything in Japanese. Of course I didn't follow a lot! Sometimes her husband would translate. It was quite interesting and a major part of my Japanese language development was done like that. She is a very nice person who I grew to love and respect.
Q. What do you like about studying tea?
A. When I began doing tea, as I told you before, I was interested in the similarities between it and martial arts. I'm really attracted to the movement of tea, that is, the specific procedure of tea or temae (点前). The movement is very beautiful and natural. Many martial arts have a similar kind of "flow" or thinking. Of course, tea is what we call sogo-bi (総合美), a complete art form. You have everything from calligraphy to flowers, from architecture to ceramics. It's totally complete. Tea is made of so many aspects, which makes it very interesting. I think that each person doing tea has a different feeling or different reason for doing it. Recently I have developed an interest in antique utensils for tea but my main focus still remains performing the correct procedure. I think the main thing is to actually do tea, I feel this is more important than talking about the study of it. It's very difficult to perform tea properly, and likewise it's difficult to practice or shugyo (修行) by yourself. But I think that's what appeals to some people.
Q. How did you end up studying at the Urasenke School of Tea (裏千家), the biggest school of tea in Kyoto? Did your teacher introduce you to this school?
A. No. She did not introduce me to the school. I came to Kyoto for the Kyoto Taikai (京都大会), a martial arts exhibition held here every May. I came to participate in that, and because I was studying tea at the time I wanted to visit Urasenke while I was here. It was not actually until quite a few years later that I applied to enter the school.
Q. How did you find studying at the Urasenke school?
A. Well, I entered with the purpose of studying the three-year course and was very lucky to be allowed to do so by Oiemoto Dr. Sen Soshitsu. I found it a very interesting experience to study tea everyday in that kind of a situation. The school is an official technical college recognized by the Ministry of Education and is held in high regard.
Q. Have you continued to study martial arts while you have been studying tea?
A. While I attended the Urasenke school I was not very active at all. I did attend a few training sessions and participate in the yearly martial art seminar sponsored by the Nippon Budo-kan (日本武道館). Recently, however, I've been preparing to get back into Kendo and Iaido, as well as some other forms of martial arts. So I've been practicing a little more than in the past few years.
Q. Did your way of thinking, or attitudes toward martial arts change after starting to study tea?
A. I think it was more the other way around. Since I'd had a lot of experience in martial arts, right from the beginning I found many similarities in tea and martial arts, especially in relation to posture, when sitting, standing or walking. As a lot of the movements are quite similar, I found this could be applied to the study of tea. Another similarity is the mental side, in that tea involves Zen thought for the practitioner, which is of course an important part of martial arts. I think people that practice either can cross over quite easily. In teaching tea, I've found that people who have martial arts experience tend to progress more quickly than those who haven't any such experience.
Q. Why do you think your students choose to learn tea from you?
A. I think there are various reasons why. However, let me say this. I not only teach tea four or five times a week, but I also study three times a week myself. Although I am doing tea almost everyday, I feel that I am still a very beginner, and so as a teacher, I'm still very much at a beginner level. I learn a lot from my students, and maybe when I first started teaching, I was learning more from my students than my students were learning from me. So I think you'd have to ask each person individually. I'd say each one has a different reason. Some people do it to be in a group activity and to have fun. Some people do it because they want to learn something cultural. Some people simply want to practice their English or because they want to teach tea to non-Japanese people. And maybe some students join because they think that a non-Japanese teacher will be easier on them, not so strict. (They quickly learn that is not always the case!) When it comes to the correct procedure of doing tea, I'm quite strict.
Q. Really? To be honest I'm also a little surprised to see that you are very strict. How do you find your students respond?
A. Once they understand my reasons I guess they are fine. When you are sitting as a guest, I don't mind if you sit at ease. When you make and drink tea, I want you to sit up straight in seiza (kneeling position). Many doctors say that seiza is not very good for your posture, so apart from when serving or drinking, I don't force my students to do so. I am strict, however, when it comes to doing the proper procedure, as this I feel, is extremely important.
Q. What do you want to do in Japan in the future? Do you have any particular aspirations?
A. Yes, to become rich! (Big laugh) I already do too many things but there are so many others I'd like to try. I want to be involved with TV, movies and commercials, play the blues, billiards, and of course continue to improve my understanding of tea. I want to do so many other things as well, but my main ambition is really just to reach a higher level in what ever it is I'm doing, to better myself. My life maybe just a little bit unique compared with others, but I'm fine with that. For the most part, I just want to enjoy life.
K. Kimura
Designed by Y. Takahashi (HP Volunteer)