- Mibu Kyogen, an Innovative
and Beautiful Japanese Performance -


DATE:   April 21-29, 2007
Night session 18:00-22:00 (only on April 29)
PLACE:  

Bojo Bukkoji Kita-iru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto

DIRECTION:   City Bus #26 to Mibudera-michi
TEL:   81-75-841-3381
ADMISSION:   Adults – 800 yen
,junior high/high school students – 600 yen
elementary school students – 400 yen
TEXT:   Mibu Temple is widely known for the traditional play Mibu Kyogen.  The play was started by Enkaku Shonin during the Kamakura Period (1192 – 1333) and it is now designated as a significant intangible folk cultural asset.  Mibu Kyogen is a form of mime in which masked players act out a story to the sound and rhythm of chimes, drums and flutes.  There are 30 plays in total, and their stories have been adopted from religious dramas, noh plays and morality and karmic tales.  Some of the plays can be quite physical, such as “Tsuchigumo” and “Horaku-wari,” in which actors throw paper strings into the audience and break plates.  The vigor and the beauty of the performances are such that even after centuries the plays remain innovative and impressive.