What we do

Virtual Reality Noh: Using the Latest VR Technology to Promote Noh Drama Worldwide

  • Organization : Wakamono Noh Executive Committee
  • Section : In Tokyo
  • Type of Grant Program : Single

Outline

Among the various performing arts, Noh is one that is particularly interesting once you experience it first-hand and learn more about it. Accordingly, to enable everyone to experience it for themselves, a camera was set up to film the performance from the Noh actor’s perspective. This initiative was motivated by the desire to further enhance the immersiveness of a VR work that leveraged VR gyroscope functions and Noh’s compatibility with active appreciation techniques in its production. Another goal was to create VR materials that could be edited as required, in anticipation of growing interest in Japan in the runup to 2020.

Based on responses to a questionnaire conducted at the 13th Wakamono Noh, scenes from a guided tour of a Noh theater conducted by Noh actor Keisuke Shiotsu, followed by a performance of the Noh play Hagoromo (The Feather Mantle) — giving audience members the chance to take advantage of their new-found knowledge and spot the scenes that they had been shown — were edited into a 10-minute video.

A test screening of the video took place at Toppan Printing’s VR Theater.

Profile

【Wakamono Noh Executive Committee】
Since its first performance, in 2004, Wakamono Noh (Noh of the young, by the young, and for the young) has been run by volunteers in the form of students and working members of society with an interest in Japanese culture. Led by Keisuke Shiotsu, a Noh protagonist of the Kita School, the group endeavors to swell the ranks of Noh lovers by offering various ways of enjoying this form of theater. This initiative is popularizing fresh ways to enjoy Noh, bringing traditional culture to young people by leveraging the technologies with which they are familiar. For example, performances are broadcast on the U-stream platform, while explanations of the on-stage action are provided on Twitter during the performances. Even children below school age can be taken to watch these performances and the tickets for the general public are priced to include a contribution that subsidizes the cost of tickets for students and young people.

Contact

Yuma Hikita
Public Relations Coordinator
Wakamono Noh Executive Committee
E-mail: wakamononoh@hotmail.co.jp

Venues

Hosho Noh Theater (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo); VR Theater, Printing Museum, Tokyo Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo); Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall (Chuo-ku, Tokyo)