今年は、狂言や能を見る機会に恵まれています。9月は、喜多能楽堂での青年能、そしてサントリーホールでの人間国宝「茂山千作」氏の狂言会。御年88歳の茂山氏は、年齢を感じさせぬほど力強い足取りで舞台に立たれ、体中の力を使って発せられる大きな大きな氏の笑い声は、ワイン樽（サントリーホール）中に響き渡り、それを観て聴いて笑う観客の声も響き渡り、樽の中は笑いでたっぷりたっぷり満たされました。
笑う門には福来たる。笑う樽には福来たる。
I have many opportunities to see Kyogen and Noh acts in this year.
In this spring, I saw “Yozakura Noh” at Yasukuni Shrine. The Noh act was solemnly performed to the accompaniment of flutes and drums. Around the stage, cherry blossoms were in full bloom and were lit up by the fire. That image was the spring I had been dreaming of.
In September, I saw a Noh act performed by young actors at Kita Nogaku-do in Meguro and a Kyogen act performed at Suntory Hall by Mr. Sensaku Shigeyama, who is a Japanese human national treasure. On the stage Mr. Shigeyama’s presence was powerful, although he is already 88 years old. His laughter came from his entire body and echoed in all corners of the wine cask (Suntory Hall); the audience’s laughter also echoed and the whole cask was filled with everyone’s laughter.
A Japanese proverb says, “Luck will come to you when you laugh.”
Luck will come to us when a cask is filled with laugher.
