Profile

Yoko LAYER

BIOGRAPHY

After graduating from high school in Japan, Yoko Layer modeled and acted for several magazines, as well as television and theater companies. She later graduated from Tokyo Gakugei University and began to perform in theater using the Stanislavsky System performing in Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard”, “The Seagull” and Maxim Gorky’s “The Lower Depths”.

She began studying Noh in 2000, and, in 2004, she became an apprentice (uchi-desi) on the professional track with the Umewaka Rokuro branch of the Kanze school studying under the 56th Master Rokuro Umewaka (currently Master Rousetsu Umewaka).

Simultaneously to working in Noh, Yoko also worked with her husband, Paul, in Seattle where they co-founded the Seattle Novyi Theatre Company and performed Chekhov’s “The Seagull” and “Uncle Vanya” in repertory, and later “The Proposal” in the International Chekhov Festival in Tokyo.

In 2007 she performed with Theatre Nohgaku (TN) in the chorus of “Crazy Jane” for TN’s Pacific Northwest tour.

In 2010 she obtained the Shite Kata Kanze-ryu instructor’s license in the Kanze school of Noh. As a professional member of the Kanze school of Noh, Yoko belongs to Umewaka-kai Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, and is a regular member of the Nohgaku Association, a public interest incorporated association (Tokyo branch) Shitekata Kanze school. Soon after receiving her professional license, Yoko established herself as a performer as well as a Noh teacher.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

2012 – debuted as a performer in a leading role in the play “Hagoromo“.

2018 – received the 2018 Blue Polaris New Person in Fine Arts Award.

2020 – YOKO Club (Yoko Layer Supporters Association) launched.

2021 (November) – 1st Nohgaku performance sponsored by Yoko Layer Supporters Association.

2021 (November) – 2nd Nohgaku performance sponsored by Yoko Layer Supporters Association.

SELECT STAGE / PERFORMANCE APPEARANCES IN NOH

Masked leading roles in Noh

“Hagoromo”, “Kiyotsune”, “Sesshoseki”, “Atsumori”, “Funa Benkei”, “Yoro”, “Kokaji”, “Nue”, “Yashima”, “Aoi no Ue”, “Izutsu”, “Sakuragawa”

Dance Performances (Maibayashi)

“Yashima”

G7 Ministers Meeting

Kagawa/Takamatsu Information and Communications Ministers Meeting

Various Plays

Hotel New Otani New Year’s Plan

“Ama”

Shido Temple Engi Restoration Commemoration Project

(Costumed and masked)

“Marie Antoinette”

Character: Rose Fairy

(Tokyo, Japan and Paris, France performances)

“Tenko” and more

4th UDON Raku Countdown (New Year’s Eve) Takamatsu Concert

(Costumed and masked)

CLASS INFORMATION

Nohgaku classes are now being held online at practice locations such as Umewaka Noh Gakuin Hall (Nakano Ward), Setagaya Ward, and Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture.

LECTURE / WORKSHOP INFORMATION

We hold Nohgaku workshops in English for the world, Nohgaku lectures, hands-on workshops, etc. for kindergartens, nursery schools, elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools, university students, and the general public.

Yoko is a frequent lecturer at Nohgaku workshops for foreigners sponsored by the National Noh Theater including pre-performance commentary/lectures in Japanese and English. She has also been a lecturer and instructor for the Imperial Hotel Nohgaku Experience Accommodation Plan as well as for the Sankei Living Sponsored Summer Vacation Nohgaku Workshops for Parents and Children.

Yoko often works as a lecturer for children’s development promotional projects through culture and art.

Multiple times a year, she works with the Senshu University International Student English Experience Workshop introducing students studying abroad to the world of Noh.

​SPECIAL EVENTS, CEREMONIES, COLLABORATIONS, ETC.

Autumn – Ritsurin Park Full Moon Viewing Party, Takamatsu, Japan

December 2021 – Classical music and Noh collaboration

Ikuko Kawai Music Stage & Concert “The Day Embraced by the Moon/Prologue”

December 2021 – Circus and Noh collaboration

Nouveau Cirque Japan in Tamamo Park Hiunkaku, Kagawa, Japan

2022 – Tour of the Tale of the Heike

Dedication Festival with Dedicatory Dance at Rokumanji Temple

2022 – Classical guitar and Noh collaboration

Osamu Koganei Concert with Yoko Layer

Passing the baton of sound to future generations

2022 – Classical violinist and Noh collaboration

Miki Aoyagi and Yoko Layer

Noh-gen Art Project

NOHGAKU VIDEO PRODUCTION AND PERFORMANCE

Noh Theater Workshop with Yoko Layer

2021

Co-Producer, editor, and performer

English-language Noh theater experience DVD

“Welcome to the National Noh Theater: Introduction to Noh”

2023

Editor, and performer

National Noh Theater Planning Department Produced

“Yashima”

2022

Produced by Genpei Yashima Regional Management Council Yashima de Yashima