{"id":2062,"date":"2014-11-12T15:09:22","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T06:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/?p=2062"},"modified":"2014-11-13T22:44:31","modified_gmt":"2014-11-13T13:44:31","slug":"kodo-heartbeat-project-lest-we-forget-by-tomohiro-mitome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/posts-by-kodo-ensemble-leader\/20141112_2062.html","title":{"rendered":"“Kodo Heartbeat Project: Lest We Forget” by Tomohiro Mitome"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nov. 1, 2014<\/p>\n

Hello, everyone. This is Tomohiro Mitome, leader of taiko performing arts ensemble Kodo.<\/p>\n

It’s\u00a0November now and autumn is at its peak. It looks great here on Sado Island, Kodo Village is adorned with yellow and red leaves all around. Both the “Kodo One Earth Tour: Mystery” cast & crew and the \u201dSchool Workshop Performance\u201d tour,\u00a0which started last November and toured simultaneously over the past year, have completed their long journeys and safely returned home to Sado.
\nNow, everyone is\u00a0rehearsing at Kodo Village to prepare\u00a0for our new production “Kodo One Earth Tour: Eternity” and a newly directed\u00a0“School Workshop Performance” programme.<\/p>\n

This month, I would like to talk about the upcoming “Kodo Heartbeat Project” performance at Aore Nagaoka in Nagaoka, Niigata, on Nov. 30.<\/p>\n

\"20141130_nagaoka_ja\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ten years have passed since the Chuetsu Earthquake. To pray\u00a0for the area’s continued recovery from this disaster, and for Tohoku’s recovery from the 2011 Tohoku Pacific Earthquake, this November Kodo will visit Nagaoka to perform a special version of “Kodo One Earth Tour: Eternity,” hold school workshops, and collaborate\u00a0on-stage with three specially-invited performing arts groups from the Tohoku area.<\/p>\n

One of the groups from Tohoku is Shiroyama Toramai<\/span>\u00a0(Shiroyama Tiger Dance) from Otsuchi in Iwate, who we met when we performed with\u00a0them at “Nanako Matsuri – Fuyu no Jin”<\/a> last December. I recently visited them in Otsuchi to prepare myself for our\u00a0Nov. 30 collaboration.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>\"Photo:<\/a><\/h3>\n
Left: Performing arts groups from each district lead magnificent\u00a0festival floats through the town during “Kamaishi Matsuri.”
\nRight: Taking a close look\u00a0at a\u00a0float built\u00a0in 1699 in Ozaki Shrine.<\/h5>\n

During my stay, it was the festival season in Otsuchi’s neighboring town, Kamaishi, so\u00a0I was able to see the tiger dance being performed\u00a0at an actual festival.
\nAlso, I went to see the current state of the disaster area.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a><\/p>\n

I only visited Kamaishi, Otsuchi, and one\u00a0part of Rikuzentakata, but I could see\u00a0that they are still a long way\u00a0from recovery from the disaster. As times goes by, I think that\u00a0many of us tend to\u00a0forget about the region. There are some places where you can see signs of\u00a0recovery, with new buildings being\u00a0constructed and the roads and land being repaired.\u00a0But right next to those places, there are places which have not changed at all since March 11, 2011, and there is still so much temporary housing in every area.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>\"Photo:<\/a><\/h3>\n
The “Miracle Pine” in Rikuzentakata<\/h5>\n

I have heard of many performing arts groups along the coast, in Iwate and other prefectures, that\u00a0were greatly affected by the disaster; many people lost loved ones,\u00a0and some groups had their festival equipment all washed away by the tsunami. While many groups can not continue to uphold their arts, a few of them are on the\u00a0way to\u00a0recovery. My visit to Iwate\u00a0was\u00a0an\u00a0opportunity for me to realize\u00a0that their festivals and performing arts really do give them the power to go on, to live.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a><\/p>\n

The Toramai<\/span> (tiger dance) members taught me during their regular practice session. Many school-aged youngsters also took part in the practice.<\/h5>\n

In September 2013, the members of Shiroyama Toramai declared that\u00a0they would resume their activities\u00a0and have been giving numerous performances, performing the tiger dance and music with all their might to move and energize their audiences. On Nov. 30, I will perform with them with all my might, too, as one of their members for the night.<\/p>\n

For this “Heartbeat Project” event,\u00a0we will also be joined by two\u00a0Tohoku performing arts groups who\u00a0teach Kodo: Iwasaki Onikenbai (demon sword dance) from Kitakami, Iwate, and Suganami Jangara Nenbutsu from Iwaki, Fukushima. Both groups\u00a0have been performing far & wide to help relief efforts and the people of the affected regions, to encourage\u00a0people in Tohoku, and to share the “heart of Tohoku” with people nationwide.<\/p>\n

Our “Kodo Heartbeat Project” performances in Nagaoka will be a very special day when you can see our brand new\u00a0production as well as collaborations with performing arts groups from Tohoku.
\nWe hope to see you there and thank you in advance for your support!<\/p>\n

\"tomohiro_s\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nov. 30 (Sun), “Kodo Heartbeat Project” Special Performance in Support of Chuetsu Earthquake & Tohoku Pacific Earthquake Recovery Efforts
\nhttp:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/oet\/20141130a_en.html<\/a><\/p>\n


\n<\/a>Kodo Website\uff5cHeartbeat Project<\/a>\"heartbeat_project_logo\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nov. 1, 2014 Hello, everyone. This is Tomohiro Mitome, leader of taiko performing arts ensemble Kodo. It’s\u00a0November now and autumn is at its peak. It looks great here on Sado Island, Kodo Village is adorned with yellow and red leaves all around. Both the “Kodo One Earth Tour: Mystery” cast & crew and the \u201dSchool Workshop Performance\u201d tour,\u00a0which started last November and toured simultaneously over the past year, have completed their long journeys and safely returned home to Sado. Now, everyone is\u00a0rehearsing at Kodo Village to prepare\u00a0for our new production “Kodo One Earth Tour: Eternity” and a newly directed\u00a0“School Workshop Performance” programme. This month, I would like to talk about … \u25b6\u7d9a\u304d\u3092\u8aad\u3080<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[102,54,6,35],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2062"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2148,"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062\/revisions\/2148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}