Kirk here with news of a takigi noh performance. “Takigi” (薪) refers to torches that are used to light the open air theatre. One must normally pay a fee to enter the venue (the Suizenji Joujuen) but the night of the performance (this Saturday, August 5) entry to the park will be free after 5:30 PM (and, of course, you can view the performance, which starts at 6, free of charge too).

The photo is from the following 2021 Kumanichi article about a previous performance:

https://kumanichi.com/articles/473978

The language used in noh is quit difficult to understand (I understand modern Japanese quite well but can only pick out occasional words and phrases in noh), but I understand that an English-language introduction to noh and the play will be read to the audience before the start of the performance.

The name of the play is Kumasaka. Here’s a synopsis:

https://www.the-noh.com/en/plays/data/program_098.html