AKUTAGAWA Tokyo Performance
*Information at the time of adoption.
- Name of the organization or individual
- Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo Nishikawa Furuyanagiza
- subsidy category
- Creation Grant
- Grant Type
- single year
FY Reiwa 5(2023) 2nd Term Creation Grant Category I Single-Year Grant
Business Overview
The project included a Tokyo performance of "AKUTAGAWA," a modern puppet play produced internationally jointly by Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo Nishikawa Furuyanagiza and American artists. Focusing on motifs that are relevant to today's society, such as the way of life in a plague-ridden society, the uncertainty of stories told by people, and doubts about common sense, this film analyzes the life of Akutagawa Ryunosuke and his works "Rashomon," "Jigoku-hen," "Ryu," "Du Zichun," and "Kappa" from both Japanese and American perspectives. Based on the traditional expression technique of car puppets, this film uses narration in English (with Japanese subtitles), shadow pictures, images, and live music. From the Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo troupe, troupe members including Furuyanagi NISHIKAWA V and Yanagigyoku NISHIKAWA participated. From the United States, six people including Tom Lee, a puppet theater artist active in New York and Chicago, and Yukio Tsuji, a composer, shakuhachi flute player and percussionist, came to Japan. Veteran Japanese staff including Satoru Tsukamoto and Takeshi SHIMA assisted with lighting, sound and stage proceedings. In this project, all promotional materials were written in Japanese and English, and efforts were made to reach out to non-Japanese speakers.
- Period of Activity / Project
- Saturday, August 3, 2024 -6 (Tue)
- Venues
- Za Koenji 1 (Suginami Ward, Tokyo)
*Information such as project outlines is provided by organizations and individuals providing subsidies.
Profile
[Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo Nishikawa Furuyanagiza]
The Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo Nishikawa Furuyanagiza is a traditional puppet theater company whose purpose is to pass down and spread the technique of 'Kuruma Ningyo' (car puppet), in which a puppeteer sitting on a box with a car called a 'Rokuro guruma' uses his hands and feet to control a single puppet, through the iemoto system. Founded in 1872, it was designated a Tokyo Metropolitan Intangible Cultural Property in 1982, a National Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1994, and a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in January 2022. At present, under the leadership of Furuyu NISHIKAWA V, he gives performances and workshops not only in Japan but also in more than 30 countries and regions around the world.