#hogaku

So much preparation (and money) went into this single performance, especially for a foreigner. The tsuzumi was the first purchase, which happened in parts. I bought the body of the drum on Yahoo! Auction for a steal! After showing it to Saburo-sensei, he said that it was definitely from the Edo Period, but the lacquer work was most likely by a contemporary artisan. I bought the skins from one of Saburo-sensei’s friends, and they were specially chosen by him so that they made the best sound without the need of too much acclimatization. The instrument is beautiful all put together, and my teacher is constantly bragging about the wonderful sound that it makes (^_^) Since the instrument is nice, OF COURSE I need to buy nice bags to keep the parts safe ¥¥¥¥

I also had to buy my first kimono, a montsuki bearing the Mochizuki crest. This matched nicely with the hakama and obi that I already owned from my Kyo-no-kai recitals, so I guess I saved some money here?

All that aside, the actual concert and experience was amazing. Saburo-sensei checked my instrument and prepared it for stage before I went on. He had me try it out a couple minutes before going on, and I was luckily to get a good sound without much effort! I got up on the stage, and the shamisen and singers were already lined up in the back row ready for the drummers to get in their places. I took off my glasses and bowed to the other performers with a yoroshiku onegaishimasu asking them to take care of me during the piece. I lifted my tsuzumi as the curtain opened (which I probably should’ve done before), and the piece started with an “un- HA-O.”

This was my first time on a hogaku stage, and it was of course terrifying, but when I allowed the music to completely take over the space and my body, I felt at peace. We were performing 供奴 (“Tomo Yakko”), a Kabuki piece named after a particular character from the plays. It contains a few different sections and a pretty substantial solo section for me with the shamisen, and I remember messing up in one spot (of course, one of the easiest sections!) Since the kotsuzumi is really sensitive to ambient changes in humidity, it’s necessary to wet small pieces of rice paper on the back skin of the drum. My teacher told me to do that halfway through the piece, which I did, but I failed to realize that it might be a good idea to put the drum in front of my face when doing it! I essentially stuck out my tongue out to the entire audience on stage! 恥ずかしい...

I think as a foreigner, the other students and pros set the bar very low, meaning that they are always pleasantly surprised when I don’t absolutely suck. The comment I got was mostly about my kakegoe, or voice patterns, and how they could be heard from the green room. I have Yuu-san to thank for that!

The after-party was at a hotel in Otsuka. It was a super fancy meal (which bore a price to match), but I got to interact with other indra folks and the other deshi from the recital, which was a nice treat. As with any after-party such as this one, it comes with a speech by all the students/performers. This, of course, made me more nervous than performing. I just told everyone who I was, where I’m from, and how I met Saburo-sensei. When I mentioned I had only been studying kotsuzumi since June, many heads turned. Haha, one great thing about being a foreigner in a traditional Japanese world.

I’m really looking forward to continuing my studies this year.