Miyako Odori

Today I went to the 138^th  Miyako Odori, a traditional spring dance festival held each April and performed by
the geisha of the Gion district in Kyoto, Japan. (The poster for the dance is above). The first performance in 1872 was promoted as a way to promote Kyoto after the city began to decline when the capital of Japan was moved to Tokyo in 1869.  It is now one of the most popular events in Kyoto.


This is the outside of the theater. Behind the building was a beautiful tea garden. 

The event started with a tea ceremony. It was presided over by two apprentice geisha.

It wasn't a traditional tea ceremony though! We were herded into a room with many low tables with small stools. We wedged ourselves in and started taking photos, (since this is the only part where we were allowed to do so). However, we were told several times to sit, as they needed to get through the ceremony. We were then served green tea and sweet bean paste "cookies".

We were swiftly herded back out of the room, so that they could seat the next group. We did get to keep the plate as a souvenir though!


Photos and videos were banned from the performance this year, this is a picture of the stage and audience before it started. 

Here are some photos that I found on the internet that give you a sense of what the performance looked like.
   

This is a video from the 2007 performance that really gives you a sense of what it was like. It make take a few seconds to load. http://www.flickr.com/photos/michael-c/2403630715/

I'm glad that I went. The performance wasn't like anything else I've ever seen. Geisha dance is very subtle, stylized, and controlled. It uses small steps and slow movements. The movements each have meaning and a few gestures can tell a whole story to those who are familiar with them. The dance was accompanied by traditional Japanese music played by geisha musicians. The primary instrument was the shamisen. It looks a bit like a three stringed banjo. The sound is very somber and melancholy as it only uses minor key notes. They also used a flute, several ko-tsuzumi, (a small, hourglass-shaped shoulder drum) and the taiko (a large floor drum). The music reminded me a little bit of middle eastern chants that I've heard. It was almost a wail.

The entire performance, while gorgeous, felt very alien. Although most of modern Japan looks very much like any western city and we feel amazingly comfortable here, this dance brought home the fact that we will never truly understand, much less be a part of the culture. I know that I completely missed all of the complexity and subtle meaning and history of the performance. Japanese culture is so controlled but so intricate. I'm not sure anyone not born here could ever truly assimilate.