Media

Kabuki for Everyone Workshop was Held at HKU Today (Press Release)

22 Jul 2005

 

After his highly acclaimed performance at the Cultural Centre in 2002, Mr Ichimura Manjiro returned to Hong Kong and gave an easy and enjoyable introduction to the art of Kabuki at HKU.

As part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Department of Japanese Studies of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), and also to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Hongkong Japanese Club; a 'Kabuki for Everyone' Workshop was held at HKU today (July 22), featuring world famous Kabuki performer Ichimura Manjiro.

Ichimura Manjiro is a celebrated onna-gata, ie, an actor who plays female roles; though he also plays various male roles. In 1949, he was born into the renowned Ichimura Kabuki family. His father, Uzaemon XVII, was a "living national treasure" and his two brothers are also kabuki actors.

Mr Ichimura first appeared on stage when he was merely 6 years old. During his career that spans over half a century, he has performed in many places, including China, Soviet Union, Egypt, the United States, and Hong Kong. In 1992, he started a highly acclaimed workshop, "Kabuki for Everyone", that is designed to provide an enjoyable introduction to the intricate art of Kabuki for people around the world.

The Workshop at HKU consisted of six parts: Kabuki's history background, onna-gata, the art of Kabuki make-up, arts and crafts on the Kabuki Stage, tsukeuchi sound effects, and performance.

During the Workshop, Mr Ichimura showed how he turned himself into a female character, and expressed feminine emotions through elegant movements. He also explained the art of Kabuki make-up with video demonstration on screen. Sound effects known as tsukeuchi, ie, fast beating of clapper woods, are used for climax scenes in Kabuki performance. Some members of the audience were invited on stage to experience beating the clapper woods. Mr Ichimura concluded the Workshop by demonstrating how to perform different acts. He said, "I hope that this workshop will help those who are not familiar with Japan to feel closer to its customs and traditions."

The Workshop was co-organised by the Department of Japanese Studies, HKU and the Hongkong Japanese Club. "The Department works together with the Japanese community in Hong Kong to make this Workshop happen and we are very pleased to see it so well-received. We hope that this is the first of many such collaborative efforts," Assistant Professor Yoshiko Nakano said.

Since its inception, the Department has come a long way from just offering language courses 20 years ago to well-developed programmes of study. Many of the Department's graduates seek employment in Japanese corporations in Hong Kong. Thus, the Department runs a Summer Internship Programme with nine Japanese corporations and organisations to provide an opportunity for students to receive training as well as to get feedback for further improvement from prestigious Japanese employers in Hong Kong.

The Department seeks to contribute to the mutual understanding between Hong Kong and Japan, as well as between Japan and the rest of Asia. It will continue to strengthen its tie with the local Japanese community to bring more of such events to the general public in the future.