Join us for a rare opportunity to experience traditional Japanese theater in New York. Master performers of Noh and Kyogen will explain the form’s essentials: the stage, dance, music, costume, masks, and props. The evening includes a talk (in Japanese with English translation), a demonstration by the artists, and Q&A.

This lecture/demonstration is presented in connection with GRAND JAPAN THEATER, taking place on March 1 at Carnegie Hall.

About the Artists:

Tadao Kamei
Noh-gaku Hayashi Musician, Kadono School Otsuzumi

Tadao Kamei was born in 1941. He studied with his father, the Living National Treasure Toshio Kamei, as well as Kyuen Kawasaki and Yoshiki Yoshimi. He debuted in 1949 at age seven, in the performance of Yuya, and played “Okina” as his rite of passage. He completed his studies at Nihon University College of Art in 1964 and became a representative of the Kadono School in 1998.

Tadao Kamei was designated as Living National Treasure in 2002, received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2004, and awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2012. Also in 2012, he was designated the head of the Kadono School. He is one of the 14 holders of the Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) from noh.

Kengo Tanimoto
Kanze School Shite-kata Noh Actor

Kengo Tanimoto was born in 1975. His grandfather is the late Masakane Tanimoto, a great master of the Kanze School Shite-kata actor. Kengo Tanimoto began his early training under his grandfather, and then in 1997 entered the apprenticeship of the late Tetsunojo Kanze VIII and Tetsunojo Kanze IX. He became an independent artist in 2004. Since his debut at age 4, he has been actively engaged in performances in Japan as well as overseas, such as the United States, Korea, U.K., and Russia, as well as creating new repertoire and reviving old plays. He was a research assistant in the Traditional Music department at Tokyo University of the Arts from 2006 to 2007.

Takanobu Sakaguchi
The Kanze School shite-kata Noh Actor

Born in 1976. Takanobu Sakaguchi made his first stage appearance at the age of two in 1978. He completed his studies in the Department of Traditional Japanese Music at Tokyo University of the Arts and was the recipient of the Ataka Award that is given to the student of outstanding performance. He studied under Kiyokazu Kanze, the 26th master of the Kanze School. As an actor, Sakaguchi actively engages in collaborations across diverse genres and also in the creation of original works as well as reviving old forgotten plays. He also teaches Noh at the training school in the National Theatre in Tokyo. He is highly acclaimed as one of the most popular and leading Noh artists of his generation.

Denjiro Tanaka
Kabuki Hayashikata Musician

Born in 1977. His father is Tadao Kamei the Living National Treasure from the Kadono School Otsuzumi. His mother, Sataro Tanaka IX, is from the Tanaka School of Kabuki Hayashi Musicians. In April 1992, he performed his first stage at the Kabukiza Theatre in the performance of Kyokanoko Musume Dojoji. On November 1994, he succeeded the name Denjiro Tanaka VII. Aside from performing on stage, Denjiro Tanaka also makes arrangements for revived kabuki plays as well as new repertoire such as Super Kabuki - Kaguya (1994).

Held in conjunction with the exhibition Kamakura: Realism and Spirituality in the Sculpture of Japan, on view at Asia Society Museum from February 9 to May 8, 2016.