Speaker:

• Naohiko Umewaka (Noh Actor, Director, and Scholar)

Moderator:

• Kyle Cleveland, ICAS Co-Director

Overview

This lecture invites you to explore the profound world of Noh, one of Japan’s most ancient and revered performing arts, where the boundaries between performance, philosophy, and spirituality dissolve. You'll get to know Zeami, the legendary playwright whose ideas about performance still resonate after 600 years. We will explore the role of the body and voice through the play, ‘Sumida River’.

Zeami, known for his influential writings emphasized the balance between the performer’s physical skills and inner emotional and spiritual depth. In the play ‘Sumida River’ (Sumidagawa), Zeami depicts a mother’s grief over her kidnapped son. Here, the actor must evoke not only the sorrow of the character but also the presence of the natural world—such as the spring wind blowing over the Sumida River.

To illustrate the importance of voice in Noh, we will offer live demonstrations, showing how the performer’s vocal tone and pitch are integral to the character’s portrayal. The unique vocal techniques in Noh, which involve projecting one’s voice with great control yet restraint, reflecting Zen Buddhist ideas of self-mastery. The religious dimension of Noh is evident in two ways: through the themes presented in the plays and the rigorous mental and physical training that performers undergo.

This session will reveal how it is not just an artistic performance but a living tradition that connects voice, body, and mind in the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. We will see how these elements, developed centuries ago, continue to resonate with audiences today.

Speaker:

Naohiko Umewaka

Noh Actor, Director, and Scholar

Naohiko Umewaka is an internationally acclaimed Noh actor, director, and scholar, known for his innovative interpretations of this centuries-old art form. Born into a prestigious lineage of Noh performers, Umewaka made his stage debut at the age of three in the shimai  "Shojo,"under the mentorship of his father Naoyoshi Umewaka and uncle Manzaburo Umewaka, both prominent figures in the Noh tradition.

Umewaka holds a Ph.D. from Royal Holloway, University of London, where his research focused on the intersection of traditional Noh performance and contemporary theatrical forms. His academic work informs his unique approach to Noh, blending classical techniques with modern innovations, which has positioned him as a leading authority on the subject and a pioneer in the field of Noh theater studies.

Throughout his distinguished career, Umewaka has performed in some of the most challenging and revered Noh plays, including Midare, Dojoji, Okina, Sotoba Komachi and Koino Omoni. One of his most notable performances, Noh Such Thing as Time,  was staged at the Dia Foundation in New York, just three weeks after the events of September 11, 2001. This performance highlighted the resilience of art in the face of tragedy and underscored Umewaka’s dedication to the global relevance of Noh.

In addition to his performance career, Umewaka has directed groundbreaking contemporary Noh productions such as The Baptism of Jesus (performed at the Vatican in 1988) and Takayama Ukon (staged at the National Noh Theatre). As a playwright, his works such as Italian Restaurant and Coffee Shop within the Play demonstrate his ability to merge traditional Noh techniques with modern narratives, offering fresh perspectives on the art form.

Moderator:

Kyle Cleveland

Co-director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies (ICAS) and Associate Professor of Sociology at Temple University, Japan Campus

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