The 380-year old Edo marionette theater troupe YOUKIZA, designated as a national Intangible Folk Cultural Property and Tokyo Cultural Property, will hold a lecture and workshop with a classical performance in Vietnam. The performance will be a Sanbaso Noh dance, a Kotobuki jishi lion dance, Tsunayakata Kabuki music and an extract of the Bunraku puppetry play Date musume koi no higanoko.
It will be the first time Edo puppetry has been introduced and performed in Vietnam. Aiming to help popularize the art, the event is targeted at both those involved in theatrical arts and ordinary Vietnamese.
Additionally, this Japan-Vietnam exchange program paves the way for a contemporary theat performance by a Japan-Vietnam joint production scheduled to take place next year. While the introduction of Edo Marionette Theater YOUKIZA as traditional art is pivotal, this exchange program also features a contemporary theater workshop coordinated by the stage director/producer Yoji Sakate ahead of the international coproduction.