Professor Reiko Yamanaka, Director of the Noh Theatre Research Institute of Hosei University in Tokyo, visited the University of Washington as a Visiting Scholar during April and May 2017. Dr. Yamanaka is a renowned authority on Noh Drama, specializing in individual Noh plays and the way they've been staged throughout history.
While at the University of Washington, Dr. Yamanaka co-taught a course with Department Chair Paul S. Atkins on Noh and Kyogen drama, and was a guest speaker for the Drama department's "Theatre History I" class. She served as guest judge at the 34th annual Washington State Japanese Speech and Skit Contest held at the Seattle Center, and also presented on Japanese culture to a group of University of Washington students about to embark for study at Tohoku University in Sendai.
On April 7, Dr. Yamanaka delivered a well-received lecture at the University of Washington entitled "Texts in Motion: The Performance of Japanese Noh Drama," focusing on the different ways Noh drama has been performed throughout history. It drew a large crowd of students and community members, eager to learn about the history of Noh theatre.
“Reiko knows everyone in the world of noh, performers as well as scholars,” said Prof. Atkins. “She is directing an ambitious, interdisciplinary multinational project to create an encyclopedia of noh in English.”