Japan: Nôgaku theatre

Today I got three postcards: one from Japan and two from Lithuania.

The card from Japan shows a Nôgaku play performed at the Heian Shrine in Kyoto. The Nôgaku theatre originated in the eighth century when the Sangaku was transmitted from China to Japan but had its heyday in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The Nôgaku plays are often based on tales from traditional literature and integrates masks, costumes and various props in a dance-based performance. The Nôgaku comprises the Noh and Kyôgen theatre. In 1983 the National Noh Theatre was founded in Japan. Since 1957 is the Nôgaku an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Japan and in 2008 it was added to the Intangible Heritage list of the UNESCO. It is my first card of an Intangible Heritage.

With a matching stamp:
Traditional Theatre-Nôgaku (from set of three) (issued 20-09-1972)
Year of the Snake (from set of two) (issued 12-11-2012)
with a special postmark from Osaka

Thank You very much Ai!