Ｐｅｒｆｏｒｍａｎｃｅ Ｔｏｕｒ ｏｆ Ｃｈｉｎａ ｂｙ Ｓｈｏｃｈｉｋｕ Ｇｒａｎｄ Ｋａｂｕｋｉ Ｃｈｉｋａｍａｔｓｕ－ｚａ

To mark the 35th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan， the Shochiku Grand Kabuki Chikamatsu-za Troupe of Japan， composed of 75 people， made a 20-day performance tour of China starting September 3 at the invitation of the CPAFFC. It was one of the major activities of the China-Japan Cultural and Sports Exchange Year. The Troupe was headed by Junichi Sakomoto， president of Shochiku Company， Ltd. Famous Kabuki artist Tojuro Sakata starred and acted as the art director. His wife Chitoge Ogi who was former president of the Japanese House of Councillors came to China with the Troupe. Lu Yongxiang， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress， and Song Jian， president of the China-Japan Friendship Association， met with chief members of the Troupe on different occasions and watched the performance.

Meetings with NPC Vice Chairman Lu Yongxiang

and CJFA President Song Jian

In his meeting with the delegation， Vice Chairman Lu Yongxiang said， Kabuki is the quintessence of the Japanese culture. Mr. Tojuro Sakata is a celebrated Kabuki artist known to every household in Japan. The present performance tour of China will play a positive role in enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples and promoting the development of bilateral relations. Ms. Chitoge Ogi is a senior Japanese statesman. When she served as land， infrastructure and transport minister she led over 10 thousand Japanese personages of various circles to visit China actively making concrete efforts to promote personnel exchange between our two countries. During her tenure as president of the Japanese House of Councillors， she helped establish a regular exchange mechanism between the House and the National People’s Congress of China， greatly furthering the development of bilateral friendly exchanges and cooperation. The Vice Chairman emphasized， the friendly contact between China and Japan have existed for over 2，000 years， especially in the field of cultural exchange. Our two peoples have learned from and drawn on the experience of each other and together created the splendid Oriental civilization. He hoped that the statesmen and personages of insight of the two countries would view Sino-Japanese relations from a long-term and strategic perspective and carry out rich and colourful friendly exchanges in various forms to strengthen mutual understanding and friendly feelings between our two peoples and consolidate the social basis of Sino-Japanese friendship.

When meeting with the delegation President Song Jian said， Kabuki is a traditional and unique form of the Japanese performing arts and the treasure of the Japanese traditional culture which is an important component part of the world culture. Different as they are， Kabuki and China’s Peking Opera have achieved equally good theatrical effects. Mr. Sakata is a leading Kabuki artist who is known in Japan as “l(fā)iving national treasure”. The fact that he chose China for his first overseas public performance after inheriting the stage name of Tojuro Sakata IV shows that he values Sino-Japanese friendly relations. Song Jian expressed the belief that the performance tour would enable the Chinese audience to appreciate the charm of the Japanese culture and build a bridge of friendship and exchange in the hearts of the people of China and Japan.

Successful Performance

Two shows staged in the Beijing Poly Theatre on September 4 and 5 were complete success.

Kabuki is a traditional theatrical art of Japan with a history of 400 years and has been included in the World Cultural Heritage List. This performance tour of China， the fourth made by large Kabuki troupes in half a century， presented a repertoire of Kabuki classics with a strong lineup. Tojuro Sakata， the leading artist， enjoys the title of Living National Treasure in Japan for his high artistic attainment. The Chikamatsu-za Troupe which he founded has devoted to restoring Kabuki classics over the past 20-odd years and carried on the traditional ways of theatrical expression of the Kyoto area. The detailed introduction of each opera printed on the programme， and the translation of the actor’s lines and explanation about Kabuki projected on the side walls of the stage during the performance helped the audience understand the opera， appreciate its unique charm and enjoy the beauty of the costumes， makeup and the stage setup.

Exchanges

Apart from putting on performances， the troupe also had two lively and interesting exchange activities on September 5. In the morning， Shochiku Company， Ltd.， the producer of the operas staged during the performance tour， held a discussion on Kabuki marketing with representatives of Chinese performance companies at the Ministry of Culture. Junichi Sakomoto， president of the company， gave an account of the development of the private enterprise over the past 110 years. He said， since its founding， the company has been committed to the production and staging of Kabuki. While carrying on the tradition， it has actively explored ways for the healthy development of Kabuki and added to it elements of modern drama. Now， Kabuki has got out of the difficulty of having few audience. Kabuki troupes in Tokyo stage 600 shows annually， drawing an audience of more than 1.2 million. President Sakomoto also talked about the company’s film and TV production as well as their desire to increase cooperation between Japan and China.

In the afternoon of the same day， Tojuro Sakata took his student-actors， makeup men and orchestra to the Beijing Foreign Studies University and had an entirely new exchange with the teachers， students and opera lovers there. Sakata gave an introduction of the characteristics of Kabuki. For instance， there are no actresses in Kabuki and all female roles are played by men. The actors do not speak or sing; the storytellers speak， sing and do the musical accompaniment on the stage. The dance and the stylized movements well retain the Japanese tradition with standardized postures and strong classical flavour.

After his vivid explanation， his student-actors demonstrated the whole makeup process of a female role. The delicate steps of doing facial painting， the beautiful headdress and costumes brought about hails of appreciation. In the end， a dance was performed. The teachers and the students said that the opportunity of having such an exchange was even rarer than to watch a Kabuki show in the theatre.

Having completed its performances in Beijing， the troupe went to Hangzhou， Shanghai and Guangzhou to continue their performance tour， which were respectively sponsored by the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， the Shanghai International Culture Association and the Guangdong Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.