Kabuki Performance and Demonstration
November 5, 20231:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Join us to celebrate our wildly popular exhibition Yōkai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan before it closes, MOIFA present a special Kabuki demonstration performance by Nakamura Gankyō (AKA Kirk Kanesaka). Kabuki theatre (歌舞伎, かぶき) is a classical form of Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with traditional dance. Gankyō studied Kansai Kabuki acting at Shochiku Kamigata Kabuki Jyūku, in Osaka, one of the two Kabuki schools in Japan. The Preformance will include a scene of ’The Heron Maiden (Sagi Musume)’ and Highlights from ’The Babysitter and the Three Masks (Mitsumen Komori)’. This event on Sunday, November 5, marks the last day to visit the exhibition, Yōkai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan.
To request ASL interpretation for this event, contact Patricia Sigala by November 1st at: patricia.sigala@dca.nm.gov
We are thrilled to welcome Nakamura Gankyō (AKA Kirk Kanesaka) to Santa Fe for thh first time. Upon graduation, Gankyō was accepted into the Chikamatsu-za Troop as its youngest member, and apprenticed to the late National Living Treasure Sakata Tōjūrō IV. He was the first non-Japanese citizen to be accepted into the professional ranks of kabuki in the theater’s history. Gankyō earned his Ph.D. from UCLA in Japanese literature and was a Fulbright Scholar (2013-2015) at Waseda University and Tokyo University. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at California State University San Bernardino.
- 1:00 Opening Remarks & Brief Introduction to The Heron Maiden
- The Heron Maiden (Sagi Musume) Performance: Gankyō in costume
- Brief Introduction to Mitsumen Komori
- 1:40 Highlights from Mitsumen Komori (The Babysitter and the Three Masks): Gankyō not in costume
- Mini Lecture and Active Participation: The making of an onnagata
- Questions and Answers
Gidayū Sagi Musume / Gidayū “The Heron Maiden”
The Gidayū genre of “The Heron Maiden” first debuted in 1809 as one of four songs that comprise the collection entitled The Popular Celebrations of the Four Seasons (Hanakurabe Shiku no Kotobuki). “The Heron Maiden” is the last of the four songs representing Winter.
The scene starts on a distant hillside, a stark figure walks along the shores of a frozen lake amidst the falling snowflakes. At first glance, the lone figure seems to be a young bride, but as we soon discover, her movements are those of a bird. In reality, it is the heron who has shape-shifted into the form of a young maiden. Shunned by its mate, the heron yearns to be loved once again, thus transforming itself into a bride. With this quick change, the heron as the maiden, recalls the joyous times spent with her mate, before transforming back into her original form. Still surrounded by the swirling snow, she waits for the new year, with the hopes of a new love budding from the frozen ground.
The Maiden, in reality, the Heron: Nakamura Gankyō (AKA Kirk Kanesaka)
Assistant: Bandō Hiroyukiya
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