Days of Japanese culture in Bulgaria

The Days of Japanese Culture in Bulgaria are taking place for the 26^th time. The festival opened with a unique Noh classical Japanese theatre performance on 2 October. Noh is on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity; it was created 650 years ago and is the oldest scenic art that has come down to our day without interruption and without tangible alterations. The Bulgarian audience will be able to travel back in time with the performances of the Yamamoto Noh Gakudo theatre. As a result of the cultural cooperation between Japan and Bulgaria, for the first time in the history of Noh theatre, some of the minor roles in the play will be performed by Bulgarian actors, specially trained by famed actor Akihiro Yamamoto of the Kanze school who is also head of the Yamamoto Noh Gakudo theatre. Noh theatre is also known as the theatre of masks with practically all characters performing with masks on. The lines and inclination of the masks, in combination with the colours of the costumes play a key role in determining the age, social standing and emotional state of each character. The actors put the masks on their faces after bowing, in gratitude to the spirit each mask carries and to their predecessors who wore it on stage. There are masks that are more than 300 years old which are only used on special occasions.