Classical actor and director Mansai Nomura promised Tuesday that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies will be full of "Japaneseness" and "wit," one day after the games' organizing committee named him chief executive creative director for the four events.
"There are many things that could potentially become issues, such as money, but above everything quality is important," said Nomura, an acclaimed kyōgen (comic theater) and noh actor who has also performed leading roles in various contemporary plays, movies and TV dramas. "We want the ceremonies to be high quality and to express the Japanese spirit.
"I want the ceremonies to be full of wit," he added. "That's something I feel strongly about. From tradition to the cutting edge, Japan has many methods and ideas that are full of wit. We want to make full use of those things in the ceremonies."