features features

KYOGEN KYOGEN

Students don’t seem to mind the

pickiness of their teachers though. Both
Endo-sensei and Yamamoto-sensei

Kyogen Takes are designated “Intangible National

Treasures” for their contributions to
Japanese theater, and are highly respected

Center Stage
by the students. These men proudly carry
on theatrical traditions dating back to the
15th century, and their sense of purpose
seems to infect the youngsters they
supervise. “Working with the national
Miles Gordenker ‘09 treasures was definitely the best part”
explains two-year veteran Fusa Kambara.
on this year’s kyogen “I mean, how often do kids our age get
to work with people who are the best in
performance the world at what they do?”
Director Yukari McCagg couldn’t
agree more. McCagg claims that learning
traditional manners and intonation that
are integral parts of Kyogen performances
kicks the student maturation process
into overdrive. “Learning about Japan
from experts on ancient Japanese
culture is great for our students” she
says excitedly. “It really opens their eyes
to a whole new world.”
Kyogen performances are especially
beneficial to the ASIJ community. Many
ASIJ students and parents are relatively

N
ever let it be said that ASIJ is out sheltered from Japanese culture, especially
of touch with the culture of its when it comes to ancient art forms. Even
host country—ASIJ students performances by professional actors
have been performing kyogen, a comical are of little use if the audience can’t
form of traditional Japanese theater, understand what’s going on.
annually for 32 years now. Though Enter the ASIJ translators. Bilingual
kyogen was developed alongside the students translate the scripts on a
more solemn noh theater, its purpose is volunteer basis for projection onto
to entertain, not teach. screens adjacent to the stage. The hard
However, entertaining the audience work of these talented students makes
while following the rigid rules of Kyogen the play accessible to non-Japanese
is anything but simple. ASIJ students speakers, and easier to understand for
work hard under the watchful eyes of fluent Japanese speakers. This unique
Okura School actors Noritada Yamamoto, adaptation also represents a compromise
Hiroyoshi Endo, and Takasai Wakamatsu, between national treasures unwilling
who make sure the traditional styles to convert the play into English and
are followed religiously. They are fond the need to reach out to the English-
of saying that “Kyogen is kyogen”— speaking student body.
you can’t change an art form with an ASIJ brings other unique aspects to
illustrious history just to suit ASIJ. kyogen too. This year’s cast included
two speaking actors with no Japanese
blood, five elementary students, and

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 features features
KYOGEN ASIJ BUSES

English teacher Mr. Ingebritson, who and didn’t even have acting experience. of emphasis on props and special effects.

On the O
n Monday September 23, 1963 several rented, blue-
will retire this year. Such a diverse cast of It was good to be on stage.” Despite However, in kyogen you have a very
striped white buses, driven by uniformed and gloved
performers only exists at ASIJ, and would having two American parents, Wynne sparsely decorated stage and all sorts of

Buses:
drivers, wound their way through the narrow streets of
be unthinkable at performances hosted by boasts near-native fluency in Japanese rules to follow. It’s always a challenge to
Tokyo. At each bus stop, students eagerly climbed on board and
the traditional families of actors. thanks to her time at Japanese school. reconcile the two styles.”
upon recognition by their schoolmates, were greeted with shouts
The kyogen performances offer However, she found plenty of food for That’s what ASIJ is all about:
of joy and laughter, remembers Rodger E. Burkley ‘70. As the

then and now

tremendous opportunities for non-native thought during practice. incorporating elements of both America
numbers grew, excitement escalated in anticipation of seeing
English speakers. Senior, and veteran “Kyogen provides a really interesting and Japan. Though it’s not always easy,
their destination for the very first time—as these were—the
kyogen actor, Wynne Callon summarizes: contrast between Western and Japanese hopefully ASIJ will continue to straddle
very first bus rides to the very first day of school at ASIJ’s new
“It was a great experience. I’d never been culture,” she observes. “In Western theater the cultural fence. And what better way
campus located on the “outskirts of Tokyo.”
pretty much anything goes and there’s a lot to do so than kyogen?
exposed to anything like kyogen before,
Director of transportation, As the buses continued along their routes on the narrow,
crowded back streets and secondary roads, the bus ride had become
Janet Witt, takes a look at five long, circuitous and drawn out. Excitement began to wane. After
what seemed like an eternity, the buses finally turned onto a wider,

Fan-tastic! decades of bus rides to ASIJ,

High schoolers aren’t the only ones learning traditional Japanese culture faster road——the Shuto expressway was still only partially built—
as the ES Nihon Buyo group demonstrate in these pictures. Lead by parent although they were still making their way out of Tokyo. After

Kyoko Takano, the students learn Japanese cultural arts and how to dance
what’s changed, and how our about an hour, the crowded streets and neighborhoods turned into
Nihon Buyo in the ES small farms and fields. At long last, the buses turned onto a rather
in traditional kimono. This year the group performed at the opening of the mobile community remains as primitive, muddy, dirt road and the drivers carefully and slowly
threaded and negotiated their way down a big hill.
Spring Gala, where their moves won them a new group of fans.
tight as ever on the road. After a long and arduous two hours, the bus riders were finally

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