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December 22, 2024
 

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Rei Sasaguchi
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 14, 2015
NT adds a new twist to its 'dogs tale'
Based on a book of the same name by Kyokutei Bakin that was published in 96 volumes between 1814-42, the kabuki play "Nanso Satomi Hakkenden" ("Stories of Eight Men with the Character for 'Dog' in their Surnames") recounts how its protagonists strive to restore the fictional Satomi clan to power in what...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2014
There are gods behind the Idemitsu Museum of Arts
In 1942, Idemitsu, a native of the Munakata area of Fukuoka Prefecture, led the Munakata Shrine Fukko Kiseikai (Restoration Committee) and was instrumental in restoring the grand shrine's buildings, which were by that point in a derelict state.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 20, 2014
Gala time for kabuki icon Sakata Tojuro IV
The eighth annual instalment of NHK Enterprises' Gei-no-Shinzui (Essence of Art) summer kabuki gala, to be staged August 22 at the National Theatre in Tokyo, will star Living National Treasure Sakata Tojuro IV, one of those rare actors as famed for his portrayals of men as for his prowess as an onnagata...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 7, 2014
Bunraku legend gets set for his grand finale
On the occasion of his retirement after three decades as a bunraku narrator, the designated living national treasure Takemoto Sumitayu VII will present part of a program of traditional puppetry (ningyō jōruri) being staged by the National Theatre in Tokyo from May 10-26.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 19, 2014
Go feast on morsels of a masterwork
Audiences at the National Theatre of Japan might be excused for indulging in a little time travel this month as they feast their senses on prime morsels of "Musume Gonomi Ukina no Yokogushi," a masterwork by Kawatake Mokuami first served up at the Moritaza in Edo (present-day Tokyo) in April 1864 with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 15, 2014
This special Horse Year kabuki's a real winner
Most kabuki plays have at their core a dramatic historical episode. Around this, there's generally a colorful, oft-times melodramatic and action-packed confection of intrigues, loyalties, romances, self-sacrifice and villainy founded on varying degrees of fact — or simply fashioned as pure fiction....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 25, 2013
Maestro steers bunraku classic to its happy end
For its last bunraku offering of the year, the National Theatre in Tokyo's central Hanzomon district staged two plays to great acclaim between Dec. 4-16: "Otonomiya Asahi no Yoroi" and "Koimusume Mukashi Hachijo."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 23, 2013
Passions and pathos
Back in 1751, the haunting power and harrowing sadness of a new five-act bunraku (puppet) play by Namiki Sosuke titled "Ichi-no-tani Futaba Gunki" (Chronicle of the Battle of Ichi-no-tani)" made it such a hit among the masses that, within a year, a kabuki version was being staged in Osaka and Edo (present-day...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 10, 2013
The human kindness of a foxy woman
"Ashiya Doman Ouchi Kagami" ("Mirror of the Imperial Court during the time of Ashiya Doman") depicts the rivalry between two Heian Period characters Abe no Yasuna and Ashiya Doman. It was created as a bunraku by Takeda Izumo in Osaka in October 1734, but it was staged as a kabuki play in Kyoto in February...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 21, 2013
A lovesick nun, magic sandals and a vengeful ghost
"Sumidagawa Hana no Goshozome" ("The Sumida River Adorned with Cherry Blossoms") by Tsuruya Namboku IV (1755-1829), now showing at the National Theater of Japan, was written to be a blockbuster.
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 21, 2013
Where cherry blossoms fall: Love, betrayal and tragedy at the Sumida River
The play begins with Matsuwaka (Nakamura Hayato, 19) of the Kyoto-based Yoshida family. He is disguised as Yorikuni of the Otomo family, who is the fiance to princess Sakurahime (Nakamura Kotaro, 19) of the Iruma family. Sakurahime is also the younger sister of Matsukawa's own betrothed, Hanako. (Fusuke...
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jan 11, 2013
Kabuki kicks off the new year
Audiences at the Asakusa Kokaido venue in Tokyo have been welcoming 2013 in with some high culture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 20, 2012
A principal of noh performance
The upcoming "Sakurama Kinki no Kai" is the 19th noh event in a series of performances by Sakurama Kinki of the Komparu School. Of the five noh schools still active today, the Komparu School is the most traditional, though it has, interestingly, taken the progressive step of accepting women. The school...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 9, 2012
Kabuki's 10th Mitsugoro shows off his family's dance moves
Bando Mitsugoro X (born Hisashi Morita, 56) succeeded to his current stage name 11 years ago, after the death of his father Mitsugoro IX. He was rigorously trained in Kabuki acting and dancing by his father, who had learned the trade under the renowned Onoe Kikugoro VI and Kikugoro's head disciple, Onoe...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 5, 2012
Big theater names and 'Super Kabuki'
At the start of the performances at Tokyo's Shimbashi Embujo Ichikawa theater in June this year, Kamejiro II (born Takahiko Kinoshi), 36, took the name Ichikawa Ennosuke IV, while his uncle Ichikawa Ennosuke III, famously known as the founder of "Super Kabuki," took the name Ichikawa En'o II.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 27, 2012
Hayashi drums up a birthday performance
Eitetsu Hayashi, a pioneer in the field of taiko (traditional Japanese drumming), plans to showcase the results of 40 years of experience at a performance celebrating his 60th birthday next week.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 29, 2011
Kabuki returns to its Asakusa home for special New Year's performances
As kabuki fans will already know, for more than 30 years, the Kokaido (public hall) in Asakusa has celebrated the Tokyo district's history as a thriving entertainment area by reviving the Edo Period (1603-1867) tradition of New Year's special kabuki performances. These shows have also become a great...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 11, 2011
Tokyo gets five rare takes on Kyoto tradition
The upcoming staging of NHK Enterprises' fifth "Gei no Shinzui" ("The Essence of Art") series at the National Theatre in Tokyo promises a rare and rather sublime Kyoto treat for the capital's lovers of traditional Japanese performing arts.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 11, 2011
The legacy of kyogen's Okura tigers
Noh, the Japanese theater form, is renowned for its highly stylized use of masks, elaborate costumes, literary and religious context, and difficult narratives. It's also known for its incredibly long performances — traditionally taking up an entire day.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 14, 2011
Young kabuki talent for the new year
Most know Asakusa in Tokyo for Sensoji Temple and its surrounding souvenir arcades, but during the late Edo Period it was also the show business district of downtown Edo. Three kabuki theaters authorized by the shogunate competed in Saruwaka-cho, not far from Asakusa's Kokaido (public hall), and they...
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
With rare Asia carrier deployment, France seeks greater interoperability
The flight deck of the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during a stop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in May 2019

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
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