Sunday, March 22, 2009

Kabuki-za and Japanese National Theatre (February 2009)

I returned to Japan for 2 months in Jan - March 2009 and it was my great pleasure to do so. I have a few pictures to share, all involving traditional Japanese cultural arts. Performances I attended, dance and music, were with my dear Japanese friends.

The Tokyo Japanese National Theatre dance performances were spectacular and lasted for over 6 hours. Each performance included a single dancer accompanied by four or five shamisen musicians. After the performances, my shamisen sensei and her friends and I enjoyed visiting at a nearby cafe. Then we puzzled our way through the interconnecting train routes to return to Yokohama and beyond.

Although no pictures could be taken of the performances, I did get one cool shot of this exhibit in the National Theatre lobby. One dancer was dressed exactly like this statue, although most dancers were beautiful Japanese ladies dressed in nearly equally beautiful gowns.

The Kabuki-za theatre, located in Ginza Tokyo, is the most fameous in all of Japan. Unfortunately this great theatre is scheduled for demolition soon and will be replaced by a high rise office building.

I attended one of the most fameous plays here in February with my koto sensei and friend Kodama san.


I am posing near one of the many art masterpieces in the lobby of Kabuki-za.

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