March 12 A Man With A Kabuki Mask

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March 12, 2019


The realization that we would lay our heads on the same bed for TEN NIGHTS was a bit shocking.  Excepting our 4 nights in Kyoto, every other stop has been one or two nights.  

Afternoon was spent going to see Kabuki.


Everything they say about the weirdness of kabuki theater - is totally right.

The beautiful theater.   
This theater does their performances in 3 acts, each from a different show.  Most people buy tickets to the whole performance, but they also have nosebleed sections for just 1 act.  

 We could have seen a scene of a merry puppeteer with his merry marionettes.  Instead, we went to the third section and got the final act of  KEISEI HANGONKŌ. 



 
This color scheme must be iconic to the genre?


It seems that this is quite the thing because this opera is so special it's rarely performed, so I guess we were lucky to see it?  
But....  It was difficult to follow. 
Seriously - everything they say about the weirdness of kabuki theater is totally right.
As one child said:

"When everyone on stage is a man in a dress and singing in falsetto, it's hard to tell which ones are supposed to be the women."




 
Photos weren't allowed during the show, but the stained glass windows in the displays were of the various stages of tiger in this opera. 
I'm glad we went.  I just wish we had sprung for the translation device.   Or gone to see the puppets.

 *********************************

On the walk back to our apartment, we had to go through the heart of tourist Tokyo.  

 We bought food-for-tourist waffles, just to say we did. 
No one ate the matcha flavored one. 


The kids were inexplicably fascinated by the Seiko Tower in Tokyo that played Westminster Chimes.
Since we're in one place for a while, we can buy groceries! 

I love that they have three different varieties of Tabasco sauce.  But you can't find tortillas or beans anywhere! 
You know how American grocery stores have an "Asian Section"?  This must be their "American Section."  Hot sauce and pesto - check! 


The walk from the station to our apartment is a giant grid, so each time we took a different path, we saw something strange and new.  
 
 A saguaro - in case we had missed Arizona.

A double-decker garage elevator. 
For when space is a premium.


This time it was a live gargoyle. 


It took us a little while to realize this wasn't a statue.  And a long while to work up the courage to walk past him.


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