Hyper Noh "Monarch Butterfly"
Reservations are now open.
We hope you enjoy our new Hyper Noh production.
About the performance
-Makiko Sakurai
~To move~
Analysis of mitochondrial DNA suggests that modern humans suddenly migrated north from eastern Africa about 200,000 years ago, crossing Asia and then the Arctic continent to the Americas while interbreeding with modern humans from other parts of the world. It is said that it took them 50,000 years to reach the southernmost tip of South America. People move and settle.
On the other hand, birds that move around in a cycle of four seasons a year due to food, temperature, climate, and the environment are known as migratory birds. It is said that migratory birds have sensors that detect the Earth's magnetic field, or "geomagnetism," and are aware of where they are going, or that they move around with a GPS-like map stored in the hippocampus of their brains.
Furthermore, it is known that there are also "migratory butterflies." A butterfly called Monarch migrates from Mexico to Canada over three generations, from south to north and back again, completing one cycle. The antennae on Monarch's head determine the wind speed and direction, its eyes can distinguish the color of flowers on the ground 10km below, its antennae and legs can distinguish the nectar of flowers, and it flies to its destination using a GPS-like cognitive map based on the direction of the sun. Due to this incredible talent, it has been called a "master of migration."
Why do living things move? There are probably many reasons for this. Or, why do humans settle down? This may be asked by migratory creatures.
The fact is that some living things are nomadic and some are sedentary.
One reason is that they may feel in danger and run away.
Even today, many people move away from the place of their birth. There are probably many reasons for this. If we were to say there is a reason that is uniquely human, it would be that we have dreams. Not dreams we see at night, but dreams we imagine in our heads and hearts. These are images of the mind that have no certainty. However, dreams can allow us to escape from the pain we are currently experiencing. Even if we cannot change reality, dreams can sometimes save us.
Dreams are fleeting and fragile, and clinging to them may be pathetic and foolish, but dreams still come to us.
Dreams and suffering. Dreams and sadness. We are always living in the gap between these two.
■ Hyper Noh "Migratory Butterfly"
Original story and screenplay by Makiko Sakurai
Organized by: Sakuragiza
● Cast
Makiko Sakurai (shite)
Akira Yoshimatsu (armpit)
HIKO (drums)
Jennifer Maymay (accordion)
Date and time: Thursday, December 18th (International Migrant Day) Doors open at 7:00pm, performance begins at 7:30pm
● Venue: Nanahari (2-7-1 Shinkawa, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Oriental Building basement)
●Price: 3,000 yen (3,500 yen on the day)
●Reservation:
Makiko's Party ticket site https://www.sakurai-makiko.com/blank-6/haipano-wataricho
●Inquiries: Makiko Club Secretariat ( makikoclub2022@gmail.com / 090-9236-0836 )
"Migratory Butterfly"
Monarch butterfly
~The ecology of the monarch butterfly (Japanese name)~
There is a butterfly called the Monarch Butterfly. It lays its eggs in the spring when Texas cotton plants grow, breaks its shell, and emerges as a larva, feeding on cotton leaves. Because cotton plants are poisonous to vertebrates, they avoid them. Despite this defense, they are often shaken off by the wind or by insects, becoming prey to insects. Only a 1% chance of surviving to become a butterfly. However, once they emerge as butterflies, they fly north, flying 2,250 km from Texas to Pennsylvania and other northern parts of the United States. They then lay eggs, and their offspring fly approximately 2,200 km to destinations like Tronto, Canada. They store fat, sleep, and have a different biology from normal butterflies. Once they arrive in southern Canada, they lay eggs. These butterflies grow to be eight times larger than their predecessors, the Monarchs. They then ride the winds from southern Canada and, using the direction of the sun as a guide, fly to the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range in the state of Michoacán in Mexico, where they lay eggs, hibernate, and then fly north again in the spring, to Texas. This north-south flight is repeated three times over three generations.
Hyper Noh "Migratory Butterfly"
Synopsis
<First curtain>
A girl goes to work in the fields with her family. They sow corn, millet, and bean seeds, and harvest weeds. When she tries to pull out the cotton, she hears a voice saying, "Don't pull it out." She finds a small migratory butterfly egg attached to the cotton. The cotton is poisonous to other living things, but the migratory butterfly continues to eat it to protect itself. This time, they'll definitely cross that wall and fly north. "Where's the wall?" the girl asks, and the butterfly egg replies, "The wall at the border."
"When I fled my country and headed north, I saw many butterflies in the forest migrating north. My father and brother were attacked by coyotes and died. My mother caught the plague and died halfway through the journey without being able to see a doctor. I too fell ill with the plague and died of hunger. I will become like the butterflies I saw in the forest and fly north over that wall."
The girl brought the cotton home and planted it in her garden. The eggs turned into larvae, which then turned into pupae and flew away.
<Second curtain>
November 1st is the Day of the Dead in Mexico. It is said that on the 1st the souls of deceased children return as butterflies. A mound is made for the deceased child, and a photo of the child is placed there, decorated with flowers, their favorite sweets, and brightly colored paper cutouts. That night, a butterfly flew to the mother who was waiting for her child. The mother was delighted that her child had returned. However, the butterfly said, "It took three generations to travel from south to north, but I have returned here with the soul of your child."
The mother is delighted and asks the butterfly to dance, and the butterfly dances around her.
But butterflies do not fly at night. "Don't you realize that we butterflies, known as dream insects, are dreaming, an illusion?" I wonder. The mother was no longer of this world, and she considered the mound made by a living person to be her own child's mound, and waited for it as if it were a living mother.
The mother dreams a happy dream and returns to heaven.
At dawn, the paper cuttings take on a delicate color, the marigold buds swell with dew, the parakeets begin to sing, and the villagers begin to work in the fields in the cool, dim light, and singing can be heard.
The migratory butterfly spread its large wings and took off on its final journey back to the mountains of Michoacan, Mexico.