Amabie, a yokai supernatural being and protector against diseases, has become the subject of a new noh play, as the mythical creature has stepped into the spotlight during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The first rehearsal of the play took place Tuesday at Nishinomiya Noh Theater in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. The play was created by noh performers in the Kansai region using the time they spent staying home to avoid infection with the virus.
The production team is planning to stage the play without an audience in September and stream it as an educational resource for children.
The script was written by Atsushi Ueda, a kotsuzumi drum player of the Okura school of noh. At the rehearsal, Amabie was played by two actors who stood on stage in the costumes for the role and checked their movements in time with the onstage instrumentalists and singers.
The Amabie costume worn by noh actor Yuichi Otsuki, 22, is a gorgeous kimono with gilded patterns of fish scales and a pale yellow mizugoromo coat that represents a shining Amabie under the moonlight. The mask used for the character is one of a woman with eyes glittering in gold. Cascading long black hair evokes eeriness and divinity.
Legend has it that during the Edo period (1603-1867) Amabie appeared in the sea off Higo, the old name of Kumamoto Prefecture, and said, "Duplicate my image and display it to the people [to fend off an epidemic]," before vanishing into the water.
In the new noh play, a contemporary bureaucrat dreams about Amabie and draws the yokai's picture just as it told him to, and an epidemic subsequently disappears. When he offers music of gratitude, Amabie appears and starts dancing.
"When there're theater performances, I have no time to produce new works," Ueda, 47, said. "Self-imposed stay-home life is not all bad. I hope to get across a positive message that we can overcome an ordeal if we are united in our hearts."
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