October: 早変わり (hayagawari) The leaflet above states the actor, Ichikawa Ennosuke, will change his costume to play 18 different characters. This is made possible by a technique called hayagawari. This word means “quick-change technique”...
August: だんまり (danmari) Danmari means to be silent or a person who rarely talks. In Kabuki, danmari is a type of wordless pantomime where a group of characters perform a battle. The word literally...
Like many others, my little DC-resident heart can’t get enough of the cherry blossom trees in this city. Not just the ones that sit along the Tidal Basin, either – the single trees growing...
Each year, the Japan-America Society of Washington DC takes part in hundreds of programs. While many of those are created and hosted by us, we also take part in and contribute to several programs...
July: 囃子 (hayashi) Hayashi. “Orchestra.” Kabuki uses musicians who play percussion and wind instruments. The four basic instruments adopted from the Noh are the flute (fue), small drum (kotsudumi), large drum (otsuzumi), and stick...
June: 揚げ幕 (agemaku) Maku are a vital part of Kabuki production. A number of different kinds of curtains, or maku, are used, including the traveler show curtain (joshiki maku or hiki maku), the drop...
May: 奈落 (naraku) Naraku is the Japanese word for “Hell.” It refers to the area beneath the stage and hanamichi. The revolving stage (called mawari butai) and elevator traps (called seri) made it necessary...
April: すっぽん (suppon) Suppon, meaning “snapping-turtle,” is a word used to describe a stage trap located at the place on the hanamichi called shichisan. It is used for the entrances and exits of ghosts,...
March: 花道 (hanamichi) Hanamichi. The “Flower path” is a raised passageway that joins the stage on the audience’s left and passes straight through the auditorium. This is Kabuki’s most characteristic stage element. It is...
JASWDC held a cooking class on Friday, February 10th, where attendees learned to make Japan’s favorite comfort food – gyudon (beef served over rice). It was one of our largest cooking classes ever! First...
