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November 22, 2024
 

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Rei Sasaguchi
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 19, 2004
Harmony of the artistic spheres
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Bunrakuza Theater in Osaka, the Tokyo National Theater this month presents in its entirety "Imoseyama Onna Teikin (Admonitions to Women on Their Relationships with Men)," Chikamatsu Hanji's 1771 bunraku masterpiece.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 14, 2004
In search of the perfect swindle
Cherry trees bloom on the Kabukiza stage all year round, but this month, as befits hanami season, they're particularly spectacular. That's not surprising, because "Shiranami Gonin Otoko (The Five Shiranami Men)" by Kawatake Mokuami (1816-93), was inspired by ukiyo-e prints by the renowned Utagawa Toyokuni...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 17, 2004
Three's a (talented) crowd
The Kabukiza in Ginza celebrates the arrival of spring with two excellent programs this month, including a striking dance number titled "Dattan" inspired by the fiery Buddhist rite of the same name held every March at Todaiji Temple in Nara.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 18, 2004
Medieval kyogen treads modern boards
Mansai Nomura, the 37-year-old kyogen supremo who has also enjoyed success in contemporary theater and film and TV dramas, is embarking on yet another a new enterprise in Tokyo this month. At Setagaya Public Theater (SEPT) where he is artistic director, Mansai is presenting his first "Kyogen Gekijo (Kyogen...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 4, 2004
UNESCO top honor for bunraku puppet theater
On Nov. 7, 2003, bunraku was recognized by UNESCO as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage. The award cited the unique nature of Japan's indigenous puppet theater, and praised the realism with which it portrays human emotions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 21, 2004
Seeing double at kabuki new year shows
Kabuki has made an auspicious start to the Year of the Monkey, with performances at no less than three venues in Tokyo: the Kokaido (Public Hall) in Asakusa, the Kabukiza in Ginza and the National Theater in Hanzomon. Of these, the first two venues offer the special excitement of watching up-and-coming...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 3, 2003
A behind-the-scenes drama of noh
A masterly drama about a master dramatist is playing at the New National Theater in Tokyo through Dec. 21. Bando Mitsugoro, a 47-year-old kabuki actor, takes the title role in "Zeami," a biographical play about the talented writer-actor-director who, in the early 15th century, did more than any other...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 12, 2003
Season of 'new faces' sees an old master take a bow
This month the Kabukiza, Ginza, is sporting a yagura (turret) on its gabled facade, covered with a blue curtain on which is written "Kyogenzukushi (All kyogen plays)." To those in the know, the turret is announcing the arrival of the annual kaomise ("face-showing") season. This was the most important...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 22, 2003
Cynic's view of the sex and the city
One of kabuki's most prolific playwrights, Tsuruya Nanboku, produced 120 dramas in the last 25 years of his life. This month, the Kabukiza, in Ginza, stages just two of them, a pair of remarkable sewamono (realistic plays) titled "Kamikakete Sango Taisetsu (A Pledge of Love to Sango)" and "Osome Hisamatsu...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 17, 2003
Son pays tribute to a kabuki master
The Kabukiza Theater in Ginza is presenting two attractive selections of kabuki plays and dance numbers this month in memory of Nakamura Kichiemon I, who died on Sept. 5, 1954, at age 68. Naturally, Kichiemon's 59-year-old grandson, who in 1966 adopted the stage name of Nakamura Kichiemon II, is taking...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 20, 2003
Stars for a day: kabuki initiates in the limelight
For a glimpse of the future of kabuki, make your way this month not to the Kabukiza (where contemporary drama superstar Hideki Noda is reigning supreme, see article below) but to the National Theater, Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 16, 2003
Ennosuke soars with two-in-one tale
For his 33rd annual summer season at the Kabukiza Theater in Ginza, Ichikawa Ennosuke is this month presenting not one but two kabuki classics: "Yotsuya Kaidan (The Ghost Story at Yotsuya)" and "Chushingura (The 47 Loyal Retainers)." There's a catch, though -- he's fashioned them into a single, three-act...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 18, 2003
Just two ordinary, everyday heroes
Amid the violent upheavals of the Warring States Period in Japan from the mid-1500s till the early 17th century, there emerged some chivalrous spirits eager to fight on behalf of unprotected, ordinary people. Such men, who were known as kyokaku or otokodate -- "ones who seek to right wrongs" -- generally...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 14, 2003
A new Kanjuro takes the bunraku stage
Yoshida Minotaro (real name: Miyanaga Toyomi) is rare among today's bunraku practitioners as he comes from the family of the prominent puppeteer Kiritake Kanjuro II, who died in 1986 at age 66, four years after he was designated a living national treasure. Minotaro was 33 years old at the time of his...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 16, 2003
Lessons in warfare, lessons in duty
This month the Kabukiza in Ginza offers a jidaimono (history play) on a grand scale -- "Kokusen'ya Kassen (Kokusen'ya's Battle)." The play is adapted from Chikamatsu Monzaemon's bunraku masterpiece, which enjoyed a record 17-month run when it was first presented in Osaka in 1715. The play is being staged...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 19, 2003
Double the beauty and pain
The Kabukiza Theater celebrates the advent of spring by offering an attractive selection of kabuki plays and dance numbers with excellent casts, including the two renowned onnagata, Nakamura Shikan and Bando Tamasaburo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 19, 2003
Celebrating kabuki's 400th birthday in style
Celebrating the 400th anniversary of the birth of kabuki, this month the Kabukiza in Ginza offers "Yoshitsune Senbonzakura (Yoshitsune and 1,000 Cherry Trees)" in its entirety. Performed by an excellent cast, the program runs for eight hours.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 15, 2003
On with the old and in with the new
The kabuki year has kicked off with three striking programs at the Kokaido (Public Hall) in Asakusa, the Kabukiza in Ginza and the Tokyo National Theater in Hanzomon.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 25, 2002
Ennosuke masters Mishima's extravagant vision
The Kabukiza Theater in Ginza concludes the year in style, with outstanding performances by the versatile Ichikawa Ennosuke, 63, and members of his troupe.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 13, 2002
Dishonor avenged, love avowed
This month, following the lead of the Kabukiza, the National Theater in Tokyo also presents "Kanadehon Chushingura (The 47 Loyal Retainers)" to mark the upcoming 300th anniversary of the famous act of revenge carried out by the 47 ronin (masterless samurai) on the night of Dec. 14, 1702 (on the old calendar)....
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

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