Event Report: "Discover KABUKI" (Komaba Branch)

On Thursday, June 20, Center for Global Education (Komaba Branch) joined the "Discover KABUKI" event hosted by Japan Arts Council. Throughout the event, we let international students and foreign researchers not only experience Japanese culture, but also interact with other UTokyo participants. About sixty participants from 23 countries/regions enjoyed the performance all together.

The program began with a guidance, "How to appreciate KABUKI," introducing the day's performance and highlights with English subtitles. Followed was the main performance, "Koibikyaku Yamato Ōrai: Fūinkiri." In addition to English subtitles, Japanese or English audio guide services were available, and participants seemed to be drawn into the stage and the story. At the highlight of the performance when the seal was broken and the KOBAN (oval coins) spilled out, some participants leaned forward involuntarily to look well. Most of the participants had never seen Kabuki before. We had preferable comments as "I really enjoyed seeing the performance with commentary," and "It was fun to learn about various opinions through exchange (among participants)."