[Design Festa 50] The Strange Rice Plant Incident
It gets colder as we pass the middle of November. As we start to feel the end of the year approaching, I realize that each year passes by in the blink of an eye.
As we approach the end of the year, many people will be busy with the flurry of events, but first up was Yokai Yashiki's stage appearance in the "Inabimono Kaihen" at Design Festa 50 on Saturday, November 16th. I would like to report on that event.
What is Design Festa?
Design Festa is an art event that provides a place for free expression for both professionals and amateurs.
https://designfesta.com
This is an event where you can express and present yourself freely, regardless of genre or style, including art, fashion, and live performance.
This time, as part of their exhibit on the show stage, they promoted their project "Inaba Bimono Monster Incident" through storytelling, acting, musical performance and the transformation of monsters.
What is the "Inaba Biological Monster Incident"?
"Inabimonogatari Jihen" is a project that uses the classic ghost story "Inabimonogatari Roku" (Inabumi Koroku) that has been passed down in Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, as a base to freely create and present stories.
"Inubou-bi-koroku" contains many ghost stories, and for this Design Festa stage, several stories were selected from these and developed into a story.
https://www.inoumononoke-jihen.com
What is "Inabi-bi-koroku"?
"Inubou-bi-koroku" is a collection of stories about supernatural happenings that are said to have been experienced by Inou Budayu (childhood name Heitaro), who lived in Miyoshi, Bingo (present-day Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture) during the Edo period.
It is said that the author, Inou Budayu, wrote down all of these strange events exactly as they occurred over the course of a month.
Summary of "Inabimonogatari no Koroku"
Inoue Budayu (childhood name Heitaro) incurs the wrath of a monster by testing his courage. Various monsters appear for 30 consecutive days, but Heitaro manages to fend them off. In the end, the demon king Yamamoto Gorozaemon rewards Heitaro for his courage by giving him a wooden mallet.
This mallet actually exists at the Miyoshi History and Folklore Museum, and the original copy of "Inubou-bi-koroku" has been passed down through the Inou family, descendants of Inou Budayu.
https://miyoshi-mononoke.jp/introduction/introduction-inoo/
Summary of "The Inaba Biological Strange Incident"
prologue
In the second year of the Kan'en era, 16-year-old Inou Heitaro lives in Miyoshi, Bingo Province. After climbing Mount Hikuma to test his courage, one strange phenomenon after another occurs around Heitaro. However, he manages to fend off the strange occurrences one after another, and finally, on the 30th day, the leader of the monsters, Maouzan Hongorozaemon, appears. He praises Heitaro's courage and hands him a wooden mallet. He leaves, saying, "When you swing this mallet, I will appear to you again and will definitely help you."
The story is set in 2019, hundreds of years later, and follows the life of Inao Heitaro's descendant, Inao Heitaro.
1. Mystery of the Neighbor
Inou Heitaro's father passed away 10 days ago, leaving him all alone. One day, he finds a wooden box stored deep in the closet.
When he shakes the wooden box, he is visited by his mother, who passed away when Heitaro was a child. To Heitaro's surprise, two men and women named "Maouzan Hongorozaemon" and countless demons and monsters appear.
②The Mystery of the Komuso Monk
The day after an incident that would be impossible for an ordinary person to understand occurred, Heitaro received another visitor. When Heitaro opened the door, he found a man wearing a "jungle" cardboard box on his head...
There was something strange about this person, and for some reason he just kept following Heitaro around. No matter how much he tried to chase him away, this "jungle man" kept following him around. It was just like the curious stares and interference that Heitaro had received from society up until that point.
3. The Mystery of the Weight Crab
One day, when Heitaro heads to the living room, he hears a strange noise and sees a crab that looks just like a stone.
The moment he touched the crab, all of Heitaro's memories up to that point came flooding back like a tsunami. Heitaro felt as if he was being crushed by this wave of memories, and then his mother, who was supposed to be dead, appeared again...
What on earth will happen to Heitaro, surrounded by monsters?
Impressions from people who watched "The Inaba Biological Monster Incident"
The "Inaba-bi-monster incident" becomes a creative catalyst
As seen above, we received very positive reviews from many quarters, and it was a performance that once again appealed to the joy of the "yokai" genre and the various performing arts that convey it. This was the result of a gathering of performers, both professional and amateur, who brought out the best in their fields.
We hope that this project will serve as a springboard for realizing a variety of different projects and serve as a catalyst for creative activity.
staff
- Planning, conception and direction: Yokaiya @AidaKazunari
- Storyteller (male): Kyotaro @Kyotaro_kwaidan
- Storyteller (female): Yuuka @youkairoudoku
- Heitaro: American Gyoru Kaneko @MGkanaeko
- Maouzan Hongorozaemon (male): Eliva @eriValentine
- Maouzan Hongorozaemon (female): Haruka-yoh- @yoh45cat
- Heitaro's mother: Suou Sakura @suou_sakura
- The Mystery of the Komuso: Takase @ak_takase_
- Biwa: Kazuyoshi Baba @bavacci
- Props and sound: Eimi Nemu @risotto_prpr
- Costume: Hibienneya @hibienneya
- Scenario: Kamishiro Ari @Occult_Hokuriku
- Character design: Seiichi Nariyo @seichi_N
Also, on the day, many people transformed into yokai and participated in the event. Thank you very much.
Author of this article
Eimi Nemu
Onibaba, sculpture, sound, and writing
English 
日本語
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