"Kakumon" for shakuhachi and kokyu
Kyogen "Rakuami" (exceptional extract edition)
Jiuta "Onoe no matsu"
This concert at the National Noh Theater will feature Junsuke Kawase III, the renowned Kinko-ryū shakuhachi performer, in his first solo performance of the Heisei era. Organized as a celebration of Kawase’s eightieth birthday by the national Chikuyukai and Chikuyusha, two groups with direct ties to Kawase, the performance will not only unveil shakuhachi music in a new setting—the Noh theater—but also bring the sounds of the shakuhachi together with LED illumination for the first time. In addition to playing classical honkyoku and original compositions, Kawase will provide shakuhachi accompaniment for a performance of “Rakuami”—a kyōgen memorializing a shakuhachi-playing spirit—by kyōgen actor Jūrō Zenchiku. For the sankyoku piece “Onoe no matsu” (Pine Tree on Mountain), Kawase will accompany Hirokazu Fujii (shamisen ), Akiko Fujimoto (koto), and Roshū Kawase (shamisen). The performance will also feature Chikuyusha students.
【Junsuke Kawase】
Since making his stage debut in 1946, Junsuke Kawase has enjoyed a 70-year career giving acclaimed performances of Kinko-ryū shakuhachi honkyoku, sankyoku, and kabuki accompaniment and providing instruction through the nationwide Chikuyu organization.
1946: Makes his stage debut
1953: Joins the Shochiku Kabuki Music Department as shakuhachi performer for stage productions, a position he holds to this day
1978: Succeeds to the name of Junsuke Kawase III
1981: Gives “Gen,” a solo shakuhachi performance, and receives the Arts Festival Excellence Award from the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs
1982: Gives a recital at Carnegie Hall (United States)
1998: Accepts an instructorship in the Department of Traditional Japanese Music, part of the Faculty of Music at the Tokyo University of the Arts
2012: Gives a performance at Basel and other locations in Switzerland (as part of an Agency for Cultural Affairs International Art Exchange Support Project)
2013: Becomes chair of the Japan Sankyoku Association
2014: Becomes a director of the Japan Council of Performers Rights and Performing Arts Organizations
Nobutaka Sato
officer
Chikuyukai
3-7, Sanei-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0008 JAPAN
Tel：+81-(0)3-3341-5755
Fax：+81-(0)3-3351-1270
E-mail：jimu@chikuyusha.jp
National Noh Theatre (Shibuya City, Tokyo)
