In the Kyogen dressing room before the performance begins. Crouching behind his father, who plays the shite role, he tightens his sash with both hands. In the past, Noh actors had a specialist "monogisekata" (dressing expert) who dressed the actors in costume, but nowadays, the actors dress each other. For young Noh and Kyogen actor Okura Yasumasa, dressing is an important part of his training. It takes two people to dress one actor, and it takes three years of training to dress from the back, and five years to dress from the front. As he is not performing on stage that day, he focuses on menial tasks, such as putting together the costume and binding key points with thread to prevent it from coming undone. "I was taught to cut my nails properly so as not to damage the ancient costumes," he says.
Although Yasumasa was not performing on the day of the interview, he often appears on stage with his father, who is also his teacher. Okura Yasumasa (left) and Motomasa (right) performed together in "Mizukake Muko" at the Cerulean Tower Noh Theatre on October 26, 2023. Photo by Kunisaki Kaoru 
While thinking about the play's theme, he organizes the costumes and props that each performer will wear. "Some of the costumes and props are important and have been passed down through generations, so I try to treat them with the utmost care." 
His father, Motomasa, who plays the role of a feudal lord, is dressed in the dressing room. Two people work together, from the front to the back, but Yasumasa, who is still in training and not yet an expert, has not yet been allowed to dress the front of the costume, which is visible to the audience. 
To prevent the kataginu (shoulder garment) from coming undone, the needle is sewn onto the back collar of the costume worn by the performer. The needle is inserted with the utmost care to avoid injuring the performer or damaging the costume, and to prevent the audience from seeing the sewn thread.
While Noh is a mysterious world of masked chanting and dancing, Kyogen is a dialogue drama depicting the everyday lives of ordinary people. Most of the comedy is performed with unmasked actors, making it easy to understand even for first-time viewers. As the show draws to a close, Okura Motonari calls out, "Yasu, let's get ready now." He is the second son of Okura Yaemon, the 25th head of the Okura School, one of the two major schools of Kyogen. While presiding over the Seishokai, he respects the traditions that have been passed down for over 700 years, dating back to the Muromachi period, and is expanding his base with the Kyogen Lounge, where champagne is served before the curtain rises, just like at an overseas opera. His son, Yasumasa, made his stage debut at the age of four years and seven months. Now a handsome young man, he frankly confesses his wavering feelings: "I will never quit Kyogen until I die. But I still can't quite make up my mind." "I want to preserve the Seishokai, which my father founded, for future generations. In order to keep it going, I find myself agonizing over how I can spread the word in a way that suits the times to come."
The 2019 film "Bonfire at Dawn" depicts Okura Motomasa giving 10-year-old Yasumasa a lesson in Kyogen. "I'm on camera telling the girl I'm acting with that Kyogen is fun, but that wasn't a line, it was something I ad-libbed out on the spot." On the day of the interview, he wasn't scheduled to perform on stage, but an exchange of lines, said to have been prearranged, suddenly began between him and his senior apprentices lined up in the dressing room. "It's fun. We all do it because we love it, and there's not a single person who is reluctant to do Kyogen." The straightforward feelings of his childhood days, when he wore a red knit cap pulled down over his eyes in the film, haven't changed to this day.
A sewing kit called Itohari is an important tool that she always carries with her. Right now, she borrows one from her senior apprentice, but she hopes to have her own for her next birthday. 
Sew, assemble, and form the costume. It is a task that requires concentration, as she is aware that she is not very dexterous with her hands. "First, I learn by watching. If there is something I don't understand, I ask for thorough instruction." 
The stage cannot be staged without the arrival of not only the costumes, but also the masks and props, so the performers often transport these items by car to performances in the provinces. In the summer, the entire family joins in to air out the costumes. 
While eating lunch with his senior apprentice in the dressing room, the two of them start exchanging lines from Kyogen. "Life has become like Kyogen, and it's fun." 
The eboshi hat is a symbolic prop in Kyogen that instantly identifies a feudal lord. Yasumasa adjusts the strings on Motomasa's eboshi hat just before he steps onto the stage. 
Two people holding the poles on either side quickly raise the curtain. So, when will it be time for Okura Yasumasa to raise the curtain on an era? 
When the curtain rises, the performers slowly walk across the bridge and onto the main stage. The reserve performers also wear crested kimono so that they can take over if someone falls ill at any time.
The program for the day was "Bun Sumo." Okura Motonobu played the daimyo, Okura Noriyoshi played the Ado's Tarokaja, and Yoshida Shinkai played the sumo wrestler. As the performance began, Yasumasa gazed intently through a peephole in the wings. "Whether dancing or acting, keeping your fingers together is the basic principle. On top of that, we're taught how to shift your shoulders and build momentum depending on the role." He performs two or three times a month, sometimes four or five times if he has regional tours. As he sent the performers out onto the bridge leading to the main stage, his hands gripped the poles used to raise the curtain with strength. A 16-year-old Noh and Kyogen performer, he seemed determined to carry on the tradition.
