Originally conceived as a live performance, Kyo noh(Void Noh Stage) has been re-edited and restructured into a new cinematic form. This work transcends documentation, transforming the immediacy of time and space into a work of moving-image art.

Sado Island, known as the place where Zeami was exiled, is home to a unique form of Noh theater, which evolved as a ritual offering to the gods—“Shinji Noh.”
However, the style of Noh that spread in Sado was different from Zeami's, becoming a popular “folk Noh” performed, chanted, and enjoyed by the villagers, integrating into the fabric of the local community. Over time, Noh became deeply rooted in the lives of the islanders, and from the Edo period to the Meiji period, there were reportedly over 300 Noh stages on the island.
The annual DOMMUNE project “LANDSCAPE MUZAK” PROJECT SADO♯3 features artist Keiji Haino, who will explore the essence of a new form of Noh called "Kyo-Noh," returning to the roots of expression in a completely novel interpretation of the art.

This project also examines the Noh stage itself as a sound device. By investigating various Noh stages across Sado, the team will analyze and explore the historical reasons why jars were placed beneath the stage floors since the Azuchi-Momoyama period and how the pine tree paintings on the backdrop acted as resonators for drums and voices, effectively serving as early sound systems. This research honors the legacy of the technicians who, up until the Genroku era of the Edo period, sought to enhance the acoustics of Noh stages.
In collaboration with renowned acoustical engineers from ACOUSTIC REVIVE, Keiji Haino and Naohiro Ukawa will renovate one of Sado’s unused Noh stages to develop a “pre-modern acoustic device.” Keiji Haino will then perform “Kyo-Noh,” a completely new form of Noh, on September 8, turning it into a filmed program. Both the stage itself, now seen as an ""installation piece,"" and the live-recorded “acoustic work” will be exhibited during the Sado Island Galaxy Art Festival. Don’t miss this raw, humble ""element of expression"" born from nothingness and the void—zero transformed into one.

Kyo-Noh: Keiji Haino × DOMMUNE
Acoustic Supervision: ACOUSTIC REVIVE × kozmic
Costumes: PHINGERIN
Noh Mask: Mechikuro (MHz)

Autumn session only