What we do

Japanese Traditional Culture Festival “The fox depicted in Noh and Kabuki”

  • Organization : Kanze Foundation
  • Section : None
  • Type of Grant Program : Single

Outline

Noh and Kabuki have both established their own stylistic beauty and are very popular both in Japan and overseas as forms of entertainment that are representative of Japan. This project is a special performance centering on four actors set to lead the next generation of classical performing arts: the Kanze school Noh performers Kanze Saburota and Sakaguchi Takanobu, and the Kabuki actors Nakamura Kazutaro and Nakamura Kotaro.
Themed around the fox, the program features the Noh pieces“Kokaji”and “Sesshoseki,”and the Kabuki works “Kuzunoha” and “Honchonijushiko Kitsunebinodan.”Since ancient times, the fox has been treated as a mystical, supernatural creature in folk stories and traditions; and there are many stories in the world of Noh and Kabuki as well in which the fox plays an active role. In this project we use the common theme of the fox to delve deep into the difference in the gestures, movements and performances that developed in Noh and Kabuki. This performance is being held with the aim of deepening mutual understanding by promoting exchange between the two art forms, as well as communicating the diverse appeal of classical performing arts.

Profile

【Kanze Foundation】
Kanze Foundation is a performing arts organization headed by Kiyokazu Kanze, top-class practitioner of the Japanese traditional performing art of Noh and the 26th grand master (iemoto) of the Kanze school.
The group was established in 1991 with the aim of preserving and studying the ancestral Noh masks, costumes and ancient manuscripts handed down and drawn from the traditions of Kanami and Zeami, the father and son who perfected Noh in the Muromachi period, as well as of propagating Noh in Japan and overseas. In 1993 and 2012 the group held exhibitions to display these collections, and in 2016 the group held a large scale overseas performance at the invitation of the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City.

Contact

Tsuchiya Junichi
Executive Director
Kanze Foundation
5-27-2, Jingumae, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo 150-0001
Tel: +81-(0)3-6418-5025
Fax: +81-(0)3-6418-5026
E-mail: kanzebunko@kanze.net

Venues

The 25th Kanze Sakon Memory Kanze Noh Theater