Japan | Noh

10:50 AM Ally M.G. 0 Comments

My Japanese class was very overwhelming and stressful. Today I got the news that I will not get the textbook till Thursday...I have a quiz on Thursday...and my homework is due Friday. ( I was having a mild freak out in class) and on top of that I did not entirely understand the new grammar structures. I am slowly regretting wishing to go into a harder class, especially a week late. It is a lot to take in, my roommate who was also in the Uji (the class below the one I am now) and moved up and then felt really overwhelmed and went down. Elaine says she will help me, but it is still a lot to take in. It is a bit stressful.

By lunch time I felt a bit better, mostly because lunch was really yummy. I had some sort of chicken, rice and apple juice. For snacks later I had a pudding tart that I was too busy eating to actually take a picture of it (sorry).

I had a couple hours to kill before the excursion started. So I mostly studied and did homework, because Elaine let me borrow her textbook. I also got more information about about the Semester long study abroad, mostly numbers and costs and what not.

Then around 4:30 it was time for the excursion. We went to watch a Noh play.  Noh is a form of theater that involves music, dancing and drama that originates from the 14th century. Noh theater is structured around song and dance. The movement is SLOW, and monotonous, and the costumes are beautiful. The plots are usually drawn from legend, history, literature and contemporary events. It is also very well known for the performances in mask that the shite (the leading character) wears.

Noh is also the most boring thing ever. A good way to describe Noh is a Japanese version of a opera with barely any music and movement. I also did not understand anything, because 1) it was Japanese (duh), 2) I knew none of the folk lore they were telling. Oh...and I sat on a bench...a wooden bench for four very long hours. My butt lost all feeling at some point. Maybe I would have enjoyed it if I actually knew what was going on...

Noh is very important to Kyoto's history, and it is only held in a temple once a year, but christ. Why would Tanaka-sensei make us sit through that. He almost fell asleep too! So, he must have been pretty bored out of his mind too.

If you ever visit Japan, take my advice. Don't waste your money or time on a Noh show. Please, save yourself from the torture.

Once it was over...at 9PM! Elaine, Mitch and I ran to the bus stop in order to avoid the flood of people. Tomorrow I do not have an excursion, but I do have Komura-sensei's class...boo.

I also got invited to Kendo practice by Mika-chan. I will be going to watch a Kendo practice on Friday June 12! This is pretty exciting, because she only invited me~ I must have made a really good impression and now Mika wants to always talk to me (and aid me in my Japanese). She is precious. She also kept me sane during the Noh show. We kept texting until it ended. She congratulated me on surviving the show.