We booked a show at the Gion Kobu Kabukai theater. The Miyako Oidor was series of 8 different scenes showcasing the changing seasons and also selected tales from the 1000 year old book "The Tale of Genji." This book is considered Japan's first novel and was the "Bridgerton" of the day. Written in installments, this book chronicles the love life of a prince who dallies about as a youth. His many affairs came to light and caused him difficulties in the imperial court. He is later banished from the capitol. All the stories are retold in dance by Geiko and Maiko. These are sub-categories of Geisha. A Maiko is still in training, they are only found in Kyoto, and a Geiko is an expert level Geisha. Geiko is just Geisha but in the Kyoto local dialect. This year marks the 150th anniversary of these performances in Kyoto.
The first scene is a celebration of the season's change and the dancers wave cherry blossoms
The second scene is from the "The Tales of Genji." Genji was only 17 and he was in a garden looking at the evening glory flowers, he wondered is there was a beautiful woman tending to those flowers
Meanwhile the woman who was actually tending the flowers, was eyeing the prince. She was so impressed with him that she wrote a poem to him on her fan and sent it over to him. This was how things started 1000 years ago and it turned into an affair between the two
The third scene is about a lover scorned by the Emperor who is so angry her spirit haunts the pregnant wife of the Emperor. It does not turn out well for the wife after she gives birth
It does not turn out well for the spurned ex-lover either. She is ashamed that her spirit went out of her and cause harm so she withered away and was never seen again
The fifth scene finds the prince exiled from the court and the capitol and sent to a remote coastline. Here a huge storm rolls in and the dragon god of the sea emerges to tell the prince to head off to a different town and meet his destiny. His destiny is the daughter of a local nobleman. They make sweet music together
The dragon god of the sea
The sixth scene is set in a nearby temple famous for its fall foliage
The seventh scene is winter
With happy herons dancing by the snow covered banks of the river in Kyoto.
The last scene has all the performers dancing on stage in their costumed from all the previous scenes
There were 18 members in the band. Eight on the left playing the three stringed guitar at times and singing at other times
On the right there were eight additional women blowing on flutes
Or ringing bells, playing the triangle and banging on drums
they also offer a tea ceremony
The Geiko are shown in the program out and about
Just wearing their giant platform sandles
It would seem that this is the same woman, but they are different
The theater area
With a gate next door
Lets go in...
The side of the theater
In the entrance way
Art in the lobby
Nice logo
All the scenes have magnificent backdrops
Our fellow patrons
The stage and the percussion wing off to the left
Walking down the street in Gion
A tree growing on the second floor balcony
An odd window
