Takigi Noh (Bonfire Noh Performance)

Takigi Noh (Bonfire Noh Performance)

Takigi Noh (Bonfire Noh Performance) is one of the many colorful events and festivals that are held in the city of Kyoto. This festival is held on the first two days of the month of June and during this festival, a musical theater is staged at the Heian Jingu Shrine. Noh is the most ancient form of musical theater in Japan. One of the unique features of this form is that this theater is staged during the darkness of the evening and no artificial lights are used in the theater. Noh theater is performed with the help of the burning torches. The venue of the festival is the Heian Jingu Shrine, which resembles the palace built in 1794. The red torii gate of the shrine symbolizes the city of Kyoto. Bonfire Noh Performance is extremely popular and many people gather at the Heian Jingu Shrine to witness the Noh performance in an atmosphere, which is reminiscent of the ancient capital. The Takigi Noh festival is held during the period when just when the 2,000 hana-shobu (blue flag) and ayame (iris) plants come into full bloom in the garden of Heian Jingu. The iris flower is one of the favorite flowers of the Japan and it is often referred to while describing beautiful Japanese women.

Noh is performed by actors who wear traditional lacquer-coated wooden masks and vibrant and gorgeous costumes. What is most interesting about the performance is the fact that the actors never express their emotions on their face or through their voice. The movements of the actors are also limited; but then what makes this form stand out is its style of presentation, wherein lies the aesthetic value of this theater form. During the intervals of Noh, kyogen is staged, which is a kind of comic drama characterized by multifarious movements and dollops of humor.

Tickets for this theatrical performance is available from the later half of April and it is advisable for the tourists to buy their tickets as early as possible as the tickets of the show are in heavy demand. The cost of the tickets for the 2006 edition of the event was 3,300 yen for the tickets that were bought on the day of the performance and 2,500 yen for tickets bought in advance. If you are traveling in a group that boasts of 15 members or more, then you can opt for discounted group advance tickets that costs about 2200 yen. The event generally commences at 5.30 pm and the doors of the venue are opened at 4.30 pm.

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