Yesterday we explored ancient Japan. First stop was Kabuki-za theater to see a Kabuki performance. Kabuki is an ancient Japanese style of theatre that tells stories with styalized dance set to live music.
Since a full show tends to be hours long and pretty expensive, we chose to see a single show. For about $9 each we got seats in a tiny balcony on the fourth floor. The story was about a pair of Japanese brothers who wanted revenge on their father's killer. They and their sister performed the ceremony of the seven auspicious herbs for luck in their quest to kill him.
The audio commentary broadcast through our headphones informed us that "in this performance the ritual and a tale of revenge are combined to create a graceful prayer for good fortune," and that "the Soga brothers wish for sucess of their vendetta, and by extension, this becomes a wish for good fortune for all who watch this dance." Yeah.
For more about our experince at the Kabuki theater, stay tuned. I'll be posting more over the next few days.
After the theater we traveled to the Imperial Palace. The East Gardens are open for public veiwing during most of the year. Though January isn't exactly prime garden viewing season, it was still impressive.
We saw gaurdhouses that have stood for centuries, palace walls five feet thick, and the ruins of an old castle building that burned down only 19 years after construction finished.
Time to pack up and start our trip to Kyoto.
I leave you today with a quote from Blaise Pascal, "Our achivements of today are but the sum total of our thoughts of yesterday."
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