Press Release - Ireland Meets Japan - W.B. Yeats, Lafcadio Hearn and Kyogen

Taking the opportunity of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Ireland, the renowned Shigeyama Sengoro Family, Okura School of Kyogen, presents ‘Ireland Meets Japan - W.B. Yeats, Lafcadio Hearn and Kyogen’ at venues in Dublin, Sligo and Waterford.

The Shigeyama Sengoro Family will perform at Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin from 19.30 to 21.30 on Tuesday, 25 July, the Performance Space, Blue Raincoat Theatre Company, Sligo from 19.00 to 20.30 on Thursday, 27 July, and Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford from 20.00 to 22.00 on Saturday 29 July.

The programme will include talks on Yeats, Hearn and Kyogen by Professor Bon Koizumi, great-grandson of Lafcadio Hearn, University of Shimane, and Professor Akiko Manabe, Shiga University, followed by performances of W.B. Yeats’ ‘The Cat and the Moon’ and Lafcadio Hearn’s ‘Chin Chin Kobakama’ in Japanese Kyogen style, and the traditional Kyogen piece ‘Kani Yamabushi’ (Crab Warrior Priest).

Mrs Mari Miyoshi, Ambassador of Japan to Ireland, said, “I am truly delighted to welcome the Shigeyama Sengoro Family to Ireland. Their performances of Japanese Kyogen theatre in Dublin, Sligo and Waterford will be one of the highlights of the programme of events commemorating this year’s 60th anniversary of Japan-Ireland diplomatic relations. The stories and style of acting of Kyogen may date back 600 years, but modern audiences still laugh at the comical words and actions of the characters on the stage. I hope that audiences in Ireland will enjoy this rare opportunity to experience one of Japan’s oldest performing arts in a programme celebrating the cultural links between Japan and Ireland.”

The traditional Japanese performing art of Kyogen developed with Noh theatre in the 14th century. Performed on the same stage but contrasting with the stylised elegance of Noh, Kyogen is a kind of spoken drama based on laughter and comedy, using the everyday life of the common people in feudal society or folk tales as its subject. In 2001, UNESCO added Noh and Kyogen to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Located in the ancient capital of Kyoto, the Shigeyama Sengoro Family are one of Japan’s most prestigious Kyogen families, and have toured throughout Japan as well as internationally. In 2016, Masakuni Shigeyama, who will play the Blind Beggar in ‘The Cat and the Moon’, succeeded his late grandfather, a designated National Treasure, and his father, by adopting the formal stage name of Sengoro XIV. A performance in Ireland is a fitting tribute to the succession of this family’s cultural heritage, as well as a show of deep respect for W. B. Yeats’ theatrical genius.

W.B. Yeats was inspired and invigorated by his exposure to Japanese theatre, especially Noh and Kyogen, which formed part of the inspiration and drive to set up the world’s first National Theatre (The Abbey Theatre) which continues to this day.

Despite his relatively low profile in Ireland, Lafcadio Hearn or Koizumi Yakumo as he is known in Japan, is one of the most important Irish writers. Embraced by Japan as a man who truly understood (and loved) the Japanese spirit and soul, his legacy is still unfolding to this day and embodies the deep connection of love and friendship that exists between Ireland and Japan.

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(Contact)

Professor Akiko Manabe, Faculty of Economics, Shiga University, 1-1-1 Banba, Hikone, Shiga, 522-8522 Japan
Tel: +81 90-3713 6101, e-mail: akiko-m@biwako.shiga-u.ac.jp, website: http://kyogen-ireland.org/
Press and Cultural Affairs Section, Embassy of Japan in Ireland
Tel: 01-202 8305, e-mail: cultural@ir.mofa.go.jp, website: https://www.ie.emb-japan.go.jp/itprtop_en/index.html