KF뉴스레터-Kagoshima Children’s Performing Arts Festival

Kagoshima Children’s Performing Arts Festival

An annual performing arts festival for children was presented in Kagoshima, Japan(March 21-23). This event was an occasion to confirm the keen interest of Japanese society in the welfare of children and the passion of the local organizers in staging this delightful festival.

The fact that a variety of children’s cultural festivals are presented across Japan in the spring seems to be rooted in Japanese society’s traditional customs, such as “Hinamatsuri” and “Koinobori”. One of the driving forces behind the development of Japanese society is a collective desire to preserve tradition and create a positive environment for children.

Center of International Exchange
On the morning of March 21, I departed from Haneda Airport to visit Kagoshima, the festival venue. Upon my arrival in Kagoshima, after a two-hour flight, I caught sight of Sakurajima, a still active volcano just outside the city, which was quite impressive. Kagoshima has long been involved in international exchange including one with Korea, and is also known as the birthplace of the Meiji Restoration, which launched the modernization of Japan. Satsuma ware, a specialty of this area, developed here after the Hideyoshi Invasions of Korea (Imjin War), when ceramic artisans of the Joseon court were forcibly abducted to Japan.
An official with the Kagoshima Prefecture government kindly provided me with detailed information about the city and its international exchange activities. As a center of exchange on the southern tip of Japan, Kagoshima continues to spearhead a variety of exchange programs with Asian countries. Of note, it has undertaken numerous exchange programs with the Jeollabuk-do Province of Korea, in accordance with an agreement of exchange, concluded in 1989.

Children’s Performing Arts Festival
Kagoshima, as a center of local Japanese culture, hosts various types of cultural events year-round, including a theater festival that is actively supported by area residents. Now in its 20th year of operation, the Kagoshima Children’s Performing Arts Festival has been held annually so as to nurture the individual personality and characteristics of children through their exposure to performing arts presentations that feature children-related themes. Relevant theatrical companies and citizen volunteers participate in the festival, which is organized by the Kagoshima Prefectural executive committee. So far, a total of 2,405 performing arts works have been staged, attracting an aggregate audience of more than 400,000.
About 20 theatrical troupes, including “Kazenoko Theatre Company,” a prominent group in Japan that specializes in children’s plays, performed 25 works at nine cultural venues. In an effort to stimulate children’s imagination about the wonders of outer space, “LA CLATRE” Puppet Theater from Osaka performed “The Night of the Milky Way Train,” based on the original novel of the same title by Miyazawa Kenji, a foremost literary figure of Japan. Kazenoko-Kyushu performed “Nikkori Pokkari,” which thoroughly entertained the young audience with its rhythmic music and movements.

Performance by Korean Theater Troupe
Of course, my interest was focused on the performance of “The Day When the Clock Stopped” by the Sadari group of Korea, for which the Korea Foundation had extended support. As part of the festival’s celebration of its 20th anniversary, Sadari became the first foreign group to be invited to participate in the festival. The Sadari work is a nonverbal performance, created in 2004, that depicts the tragedy of the civil conflict in Yugoslavia and mankind’s aspiration for peace. As a guest performance, the Sadari presentation generated considerable interest among festival-goers and attracted a large audience. The performance served to promote a sense of the universal values of mankind among children, our leaders of tomorrow, along with broadening an approach to the futureoriented relations of Korea and Japan.
The Sadari group representatives also noted that, together with Kazenoko-Kyushu, they jointly produced and staged performances of “Encounter – Three Stories of Forest” in 2002. In this regard, they stressed the need for continued interest in and support for more active exchange of children’s plays, between the two countries in the future. In his poem Rainbow, that reflects upon the precious value of the innocence of children, William Wordsworth is still remembered for a memorable line: “The child is the father of the man.” Amidst the festival atmosphere, I felt a clear need for more conscientious efforts, on the part of adults, to extend encouragement and affection to children to assure their sound development.

SEARCH

#Arts #KF #Seminar #KOREA

Kagoshima Children’s Performing Arts Festival

SEARCH

전체메뉴