Minamiza Theatre in Kyoto has launched an initiative to encourage more foreign people to watch Kabuki in the midst of a surge in inbound tourism in the ancient Japanese capital and elsewhere in the country.
The prestigious theater is staging performances over nine days through Nov. 10, each of which includes a session allowing the audience to hear in detail about the charms of Kabuki, an over 400-year-old traditional Japanese performing art, by two actors in English.
Minamiza Theatre in central Kyoto
Minamiza Theatre in central Kyoto
It is the first time that Minamiza has offered such an English-language service in its over 400 years of history, according to a spokesman of Shochiku Co., operator of Minamiza.
Following the introduction session, which actors Nakamura Umeno and Kataoka Senjiro conduct through an interpreter, the pair performs a non-verbal play called “Shojo” featuring a mythical sake-loving spirit.
According to Nakamura, who plays an “onnagata” female role as a sake seller, the show involves a shojo, performed by Kataoka as a “tachiyaku” male role, getting increasingly drunk and dancing joyfully together with the sake seller in what becomes a soulful exchange.
Alluding to a rising number of foreign visitors to Japan, Nakamura said, “I would like foreign people, including inbound tourists, to enjoy the non-verbal dancing.”
©SHOCHIKU
©SHOCHIKU
“With a plain and simple story and dynamic music, we will perform gracefully,” he said at a media event on Oct. 23. “I believe (foreign audiences) will appreciate it.”
The Japan Tourism Agency estimates the number of foreign visitors to the country will hit a record 35 million in 2024, with spending totaling 8 trillion yen ($52 billion), also an all-time high.
With Kyoto being a top destination for foreign visitors alongside Tokyo and Osaka, the Japanese government has set a goal of increasing the numbers to 60 million visitors and 15 trillion yen, respectively, in 2030.
Visitors fill street at tourist spot in Kyoto
Visitors fill street at tourist spot in Kyoto
In an effort to draw interest from youths and foreign people in Kabuki, Minamiza invited six foreign students at universities and language schools in Kyoto to the media event and let them have exchanges with Nakamura and Kataoka. The students had never seen live Kabuki performances.
Hester van der Weij, a Dutch student at Kyoto University, along with a Chinese student, tried “tsuke,” which refers to sound effects created by striking a board with rectangular pieces of wood.
Kataoka stressed the importance of tsuke in Kabuki performances, saying the sounds create accents as he walks on the stage and make the audience feel strength and momentum when he runs.
“As an actor, I feel great (with tsuke),” he said, speaking to the six students through an interpreter. “When I strike a pose, the sound effects draw even more excitement and applause from the audience.”
Van der Weij said, “I think to have all the knowledge and watch it again creates a way better and deeper understanding of what is happening (in Kabuki performances)."
“And now I can also share what I learned here to all my international friends that don’t speak Japanese,” she said.
Minamiza manager Yujiro Kobayashi said foreigners account for less than 10 percent of visitors to the theater, and that he would like more foreigners to come and watch Kabuki to promote understanding of the traditional performing art, especially when next year marks the 130th anniversary of the founding of Shochiku.
“Many foreign students and inbound tourists say they have passed in front of Minamiza, but quite a few of them do not know what is taking place inside,” Kobayashi said. “I would like them to enjoy not only Japanese food and the beautiful scenery of Kyoto, but also the culture.”
Yasaburo Inoue, secretary general of the Kyoto City International Foundation, praised Minamiza’s initiative in reaching out to foreign students in the city and giving some of them a taste of Kabuki through exchanges with actors.
“I expect many foreign people to come and see the show starting Nov. 2, and hope that it will lead to expanding the base of Kabuki fans," Inoue said.
By Ko Hirano, Kyodo News
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