Research
Interdisciplinary Research into Noh Costumes Handed Down in the Matsudaira clan of the Echizen Domain
Leader: NAGASAKI Iwao
Member: KADOWAKI Yukie
This study is based on “Research on Noh Costumes in Overseas Collections: an Interdisciplinary View,” chosen as a FY2014-2015 “Collaborative Research through Open Recruitment” projects by the Center for International and Interdisciplinary Research on Noh Theatre of The Nogami Memorial Noh Theatre Research Institute. Its aim is to conduct further research into the key findings from the previous year’s project. Particularly noteworthy findings last year included several seals commonly used in the works owned by the Echizen-Matsudaira han (clan), and tags sewn into white plain silk cloth, found in the works owned by the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD.) The same seals and tags are used in works owned by Takashimaya, Matsuzakaya and the Hikone Castle Museum. We will try to discover their meaning by thoroughly examining these collections. We will conduct research on Matsudaira historical documents and collections owned by the Fukui City History Museum (Ekki Bunko and Shungaku Memorial Bunko), the Fukui Prefectural Library, and the National Institute of Japanese Literature. We will also refer to works and documents from other clans. We hope that this year’s project will shed some light on the history of Noh performances by the Matsudaira clan, which should further our understanding of Noh performances by Gosankyō (the three branches of the shogun Tokugawa clan) and by the Shogun at Edo Castle. At the same time, we will collaborate with museums abroad to further develop the study of Noh. Works reflecting our research findings will serve as a useful tool to introduce Noh abroad, to attract more attention to Noh and to stimulate its studies among scholars and students of Japanese art abroad, thereby expanding international and interdisciplinary research.
Research Results
