Third Public Lecture of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Third Public Lecture by the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage

 On December 16, 2008, the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage held a public lecture in the large lecture room of the National Noh Theater. Since 2006, the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage has held lectures on audio recordings made by the Cultural Properties Protection Comission (currently the Agency for Cultural Affairs) in the past. This year, a recording of noh-bayashi (musical accompaniment to noh) was introduced in a lecture that focused on the changes in noh as traced by audio materials.
 It appears that the main purpose of the recordings of noh-bayashi made in 1951 was to document the performances of Kawasaki Kyuen, an o-tsuzumi player, and Ko Yoshimitsu, a ko-tsuzumi player. Both Kawasaki and Ko received the first individual recognition as holders of important intangible cultural properties (socalled “Living National Treasures”). This lecture allowed listeners to hear the consummate art of the two masters who supported noh in the Taisho and Showa periods and to learn about the significance of the recordings made by the Agency for Cultural Affairs in the past and the relationship of the recordings with the transmission of noh.
 The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage is planning to hold another lecture next year based on audio materials made by the Commission in the past.

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