Kabuki

The second presenter of the afternoon was Mark Oshima and he gave us an overview of kabuki. I was surprised to learn that most Japanese people do not know a lot about classical Japanese theater--it's not studied in school and most people do not attend performances.

Kabuki combines song, dance and acting. We got to watch a demonstration of the dancer, Nishikawa Masako, getting ready by putting on her makeup, kimono and wig. It's quite an elaborate process! Then we watched her dance, accompanied by the shamisen and singing.