We present the soulful sounds of tradition and innovation in a non-audience performance of "Gigei Seizui Esprit of Aichi Performing Arts" held at the mini theater (black box theater) of the Aichi Prefectural Art Theater.
Performances in two forms – "classical" and "challenge for the new era" – are featured in a 30-minute video, touching on the history, the production process, and reflections on the performances.
You can also view the two performances in their entirety.
Against the backdrop of Shakkyo (The Stone Bridge, a Noh play) unique to Nagoya, Kazumasa Nishikawa and company perform Renjishi, which depicts a father and son overcoming adversities, sending best wishes to people battling the coronavirus pandemic.
In a session with dynamic shamisen and wadaiko (Japanese drum) and Japanese Buyo dance by Kazumasa Nishikawa, the free and open dance style expresses a release from the world locked down by the pandemic.
In 1841, Koisaburo Nishikawa I moved from Edo (old name for Tokyo) to Nagoya and became the first Nishikawa School headmaster and laid the foundation for the school in Nagoya. One of the five major schools of Nihon Buyo (Japanese classical dance), the Nishikawa School was created in the early days of Nihon Buyo history.
Ukon Nishikawa, the soshi (grandmaster) of the Nishikawa School has exerted effort into research for the spread and development of Nihon Buyo while demonstrating various abilities in the script and choreography of dances such as Nagoya Odori. He received the FY 1982 Aichi Prefectural Art and Culture Encouragement Prize Culture Award and the 2001 Minister of Education Award.
Ukon Nishikawa passed away on December 12, 2020. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and all involved in light of their profound loss.
4th Iemoto (Headmaster) Kazumasa Nishikawa presides over Nagoya Odori, a performance that has continued over 70 years, and instructs geishas and Buyo dancers across Japan. He was the 2016 National Cultural Festival Aichi General Producer and performed at the 2019 Japan Tree-Planting Festival Aichi and the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Cultural Program. He also works to popularize NOSS, a health exercise using Nihon Buyo.
Nishikawa School Bekkaku Shihan (Master) Kirk Nishikawa, the nephew of Kazumasa, took to the stage for the first time at the age of two. He works to promote international exchange through Buyo in order to pass down the traditional performing arts of Japan.
Narrator: Kirk Nishikawa
