Genroku 15 Autumn at Mibu Temple, The Silent Mask Play of Breaking Plates

Inspired by Chikamatsu Monzaemon's "Autumn Nembutsu in Mibu" (1702), a silent play inspired by the "Horokuwari" (Burning the Fireplace), a warding off evil spirits.

Mibu Temple, Kyoto.
Mibu Kyogen.
The performers wear masks and are completely silent (silent).

In "Horokuwari," hundreds of terracotta plates are dropped from the stage and shattered to ward off evil spirits.
The protagonist, who hides his face from the world (masked), and the silent Kyogen performers.

The silence is broken by the sound of bells and shattering plates.
Tamiya, the young master of a barrel maker, has fallen into disgrace after becoming infatuated with the prostitute Ohaya and being disowned. To avoid public attention, he blends into the crowd at Mibu Temple, hiding his face with a hood and mask so that no one can see him. A strange "silent play" is taking place there. The actors, also wearing masks of demons and clowns, dance without saying a word.
Ohaya arrives in search of Tamiya. The moment the two are reunited, the "Poke-Burning" performance begins on stage. Hundreds of piles of plates are slammed to the ground with a clang! Clash! Is the thunderous sound the sound of severing the couple's bond, or the sound of destruction?
As the autumn wind blows, only the sound of the Buddhist chanting bell (gong...) can be heard. The two, hesitant to even exchange words, stand in silence amid the flood of sound.

Autumn Mibu Temple Gun-Breaking Mask Silent Drama 1702

Excerpts from the Actual Script

"Demons... and humans... wear masks..."
"Wordlessness... is the truth..."