02.11.2017

Ebizo urges non-Japanese fans to savor beauty of kabuki and not worry about language barrier

• Description

  While words may be a barrier to fully understanding an artistic performance abroad, Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo on Thursday urged spectators from overseas to enjoy the traditional Japanese art for the beauty of its “form.”

  “There is the language barrier. When I go abroad and watch performances there, even if I do not understand all the meaning, there is something that I can relate to,” Ebizo said at Kabukiza Theatre during an event of the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival.

  It is the fourth straight year a special event featuring kabuki was held during the festival, which opened on Wednesday and runs through Nov. 3.

  “Kabuki is a beauty of form and is tailored around the way one carries oneself, so it hinges on form as with, say, opera and ballet overseas,” said Ebizo, who has also performed abroad to showcase Japan’s art that dates back more than 400 years.

  Read more HERE

  

  Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo and U.S. actor and director Tommy Lee Jones wave during a news conference at a Kabuki event at Kabukiza Theatre as part of the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival in Tokyo.