Aug 16 (Wed), 2017 / Last updated : Aug 16 (Wed), 2017 melanie Posts by Members, , , , , , , ,

“Our ‘Living, Learning, Creating’ Exhibition at EC” by Yosuke Kusa

Share Tweet

Earth Celebration 2017 begins this weekend!

One of the events at EC 2017 this year is Kodo’s free-admission “Living, Learning, Creating” exhibition at Tennanso in Ogi’s main shopping street. Kodo performers and staff will share a range of things they made by hand, including stage props, instruments, and furniture, alongside photos they took while they were on tour with Kodo.

Today, I would like to share a sneak peek of some of the items that will be on display.

▼ Kenta Nakagome’s taiko bachi (drumsticks)

▼ Eiichi Saito’s suri-zasara, a percussion instrument made from bamboo that is played by rubbing a whisk-like beater along a long notched rod.

▼ Tomoe Miura’s coverall apron

▼ Photos by Ryotaro Leo Ikenaga (left) and Ryoma Tsurumi (right)

Yoshikazu Fujimoto, Tomohiro Mitome, and Yuichiro Funabashi will also have their handcrafted drumsticks on display. You will also see sashiko embroidery by Kiyoko Oi, an okedo-daiko made by Maya Minowa…and much more! We look forward to showing you a different side to Kodo than what you see on stage. Please come along!

▼ The exhibition will be held at Tennanso, which is marked “23” on this Ogi map.

Download (PDF *Japanese only)

*During EC, the shops numbered on this map will hold a special market-place event. We hope you’ll take the time to stroll along the shopping street and enjoy the special goods and delicacies the town has to offer.

Earth Celebration 2017 | Living, Learning, Creating Exhibition
https://www.earthcelebration.jp/en/event/exhibition/

Jul 24 (Mon), 2017 / Last updated : Jul 24 (Mon), 2017 melanie Kodo Blog, , ,

“In Matsuyama with ‘Spirited Summer'” by Chie Yamawaki

Share Tweet

July 22, 2017

Hello, everyone! This is my first blog post. I’m Chie Yamawaki, a Kodo junior member.

I am currently on tour with “Spirited Summer” and we only have four performances to go.

After our performance in Kurashiki today, we traveled to Matsuyama in Shikoku.

Speaking of Shikoku, I am from Kagawa Prefecture.

So when I visit nearby Kurashiki and Matsuyama, it feels similar to being back in my hometown.

The climate and dialect in Western Japan make me feel so relaxed, as did the Sanuki udon noodles I ate during a road-side stop.

This is my first big tour.
My heart felt like it might burst with nerves and worries during the first half of the tour, but all the senior Kodo members supported me through it.
I received a tremendous amount of energy from the smiles and applause the audience gave us at each performance. My heart gets fully recharged with every performance, so I have arrived in Matsuyama filled with energy and with eleven performances worth of wonderful memories.

As this tour progresses, I think each performance feels like a “spirited summer” of its own.
The people, sounds, food, history, atmosphere, water, and other elements of each place we visit blend with Kodo and create a unique, spirited summer experience each time.

Tomorrow we have our Matsuyama performance.
Some years ago I was one of the audience members watching Kodo perform on stage at tomorrow’s venue, Matsuyama Shimin Kaikan.
Now I am a junior member of Kodo and this time I will be on stage performing with Kodo.
Since I was very young, I often visited Matsuyama for fun. I am really looking forward to our spirited summer experience in Matsuyama. I wonder what local flavor will blend into our performance…

For the remainder of the tour, we will head further south to the bottom of Kyushu.
The temperature will rise and so will our spirit on stage!
I look forward to sharing more special summer experiences with you all and taiko. Please come along to see one of our performances.

山脇千栄

Kodo “Spirited Summer” Japan Tour

Photos: Takashi Okamoto

Jun 16 (Fri), 2017 / Last updated : Jun 21 (Wed), 2017 melanie Kodo Blog, , , , ,

“We’re in Yamagata Prefecture!” by Kengo Watanabe

Share Tweet

June 16, 2017

Hello, everyone! This is Kengo Watanabe. It has been a while since my last Kodo Blog post.

Yesterday we arrived in Sakata City in Yamagata Prefecture. I visited Sankyo Soko, a rice storehouse that was built in 1893. It is still used today.

I also saw these great Japanese zelkova (keyaki) trees all in a row.


Today we have our final performance of Kodo Premium Concert “An Invitation from Tamasaburo Bando into the World of Kodo.” I look forward to seeing everyone at the theater!

Kodo Premium Concert “An Invitation from Tamasaburo Bando into the World of Kodo”

Jun 21 (Wed), 2017 / Last updated : Jun 21 (Wed), 2017 melanie Kodo Blog, , , ,

“Meet & Greet Visit to Asakusa” by Ryoma Tsurumi

Share Tweet

Summer is on its way and I can feel the change of season in the air already.

The other day I went to Asakusa in Tokyo with Tsuyoshi. It was a holiday so Kaminari-mon Street was bustling with many tourists. When we glanced up, we saw that Asakusa had put “Kodo Spirited Summer” flags up all over the place!

 

Tsuyoshi and I visited many shops in Asakusa to say hello to the local supporters of our annual Asakusa concerts. Unfortunately, we found that many of the people we wanted to say hello to were not at work on this particular day, so we had to leave messages for them instead. We were pleased to see Mr. Hokari, the owner of Kaminari Okoshi Honpo!

This year marks the fifth year that Kodo has held back-to-back concerts in Asakusa. Every year the people of Asakusa help and support us in so many ways. Thanks to them, Asakusa is a very special place for all of us.

Our “Spirited Summer” tour begins on July 2 in Kyoto and will visit eleven cities throughout Japan. We will give performances in Asakusa from July 6 through 9. There are still tickets available, so please come along!

After the humid rainy season, everyone needs a boost. We hope you will join us in July for our invigorating “Spirited Summe” performances! See you soon!

Kodo “Spirited Summer” Japan Tour

 

Jun 13 (Tue), 2017 / Last updated : Jun 13 (Tue), 2017 melanie Kodo Blog, , , , , ,

“We’ve Got Something in Common!” by Yosuke Kusa

Share Tweet

The “Yugen” tour began in Tokyo on May 16 and we gave performances in Tokyo, Niigata and Nagoya on the first leg of this tour.
For this production, the performers and Kodo staff were supported by a numerous people from a wide range of professions.

Amongst all these people from different backgrounds, I found something that six of us have in common.

Front row (from left): Tsunahito Hanayagi, Yuichiro Funabashi
Back row (from left): Erika Ueda, Takefumi Noguchi, Yosuke Kusa, Yusuke Ishikawa

The six of us pictured above all graduated from the same university! Hanayagi-ryu dancer Tsunahito Hanayagi, stage set staff Takefumi Noguchi & Yusuke Ishikawa of Tatsuta Stage Co., Ltd., Kodo performers Yuichiro Funabashi and I, and Kodo publicist Erika Ueda.
There are approximately 780 universities in Japan, so it was quite a coincidence for us all to come together to work on the same production and find that we had all studied at Kyoto University of Art and Design. As the days went by on our tour, we discovered this connection and we were so happy about that. I am still buzzing about it so I thought I would share it on the Kodo Blog.

▲At Shunjuza in Sep. 2016, warming up before our performance.

By the way, Kodo will perform “Spirited Summer” at the theater at Kyoto University of Art and Design, Shunjuza, on July 2.

Also, the Yugen tour will resume on Sep. 2 in Fukuoka and then travel to Kyoto for performances from Sep. 21 through 23.

▲　In the Yugen performances, Yosuke Kusa performs the snake dance.

The path that led me to my current job began in Kyoto, so I know that performing these programmes in Kyoto will have special meaning for me. Please come along to see “Spirited Summer” and “Yugen” in Kyoto!

Kodo Blog Archive