Hello, this is Onoe Kikunojo. Today I would like to talk about the Azuma Odori, which begins on May 5st. This year marks the 21th anniversary of the Azuma Odori. The 100th performance to commemorate this milestone will feature gorgeous singing and dancing by the geisha of Shinbashi, and we are also inviting geisha from entertainment districts all over Japan, with plans for an unprecedentedly extravagant program. As I tell you about the program, I will ask the three geisha of Shinbashi who will actually be performing on stage to share their enthusiasm for the event.

The Azuma Odori dance began in 1925 as the opening performance of the Shinbashi Enbujo Theater.

The Azuma Odori began in 1925 (Taisho 14) as the opening ceremony for the Shinbashi Enbujo Theater, which was built. Since the Meiji Restoration, the Shinbashi entertainment district has made great strides, and the geisha have made efforts to improve their art, to the point that they came to be known as "Shinbashi of Art." The Shinbashi Enbujo Theater was built as a place to showcase their art apart from the tatami rooms of traditional Japanese restaurants. It was burned down in the Great Tokyo Air Raid in 1945 (Showa 20), but was rebuilt three years later, and the Azuma Odori was revived.

A special finale to the Shinbashi Higashiodori, a dance that has been passed down for 100 years

The highlight of the Shinbashi Azuma Odori dance is the finale, where all the performers gather in black montsuki.

Performing in Azuma Odori and lining up for the finale was a special occasion for the geisha of Shinbashi. The core of the staging of the entire Azuma Odori was how the show was structured leading up to the "sawagi" finale. The opening act features the classical pieces "Seigaiha" (a wave of a geisha) and "Hyakunen Sanbaso" (a traditional Japanese folk song) performed on alternate days. In the second act, top geisha from entertainment districts all over Japan rush to the stage to celebrate the 100th performance of the Azuma Odori.

The third act is the Azuma Odori's "Okonomi," a traditional Shinbashi performance. "Okonomi" is a collection of short songs that are colorfully enjoyed, ranging from kouta, danuta, classical songs, and sometimes folk songs, with a unique theme each year. The finale of "Okonomi" is the Shinbashi "Sawagi." In recent years, the Azuma Odori has been held for four days, but this commemorative performance will be held for seven days. There will be a total of 4 performances, including a daytime performance and an evening performance. There are a total of 7 geisha districts from all over the country who will be performing. These 14 geisha districts will take turns performing the second act on each day.

Geisha from Shinbashi will also be performing in different roles depending on the day, so you can enjoy a slightly different performance every day.

19 dancers from 100 entertainment districts across Japan, from Sapporo to Hakata, will gather at Shinbashi Enbujo.

There will be 19 geisha districts participating, including those in Tokyo other than Shinbashi. It will be a big event with about 19 dancers from the 100 geisha districts, and a total of over 180 people including those from other regions. Everyone has come from all over to add a touch of glamour to the XNUMXth performance of Azuma Odori, and while we are grateful to them for coming, we also feel a sense of responsibility, knowing that we cannot show anything embarrassing for Shinbashi. We would like to perform with a positive attitude, so that the audience can feel the characteristics of each geisha district and think, "Shinbashi is so clean after all."

The third act, in which Shimbashi geisha appear, features a performance themed around the "bridges" of the Shimbashi area.

This town began with a bridge called "Shinbashi" in Ginza.The theme of the third act this time is a story related to such a bridge.This is the 100th time, so let’s build a bridge to the 101st time.With the meaning of "bridge to the next generation",The story is about the bridge.The planned piece will express gratitude to the people who have continued to create the Azuma Odori and a desire for the dance to continue in the future.It is.

The 100th performance of "Azuma Odori" also marks the 100th anniversary of the Shinbashi Enbujo Theater, so we thought that a performance set in the Shinbashi area would be fitting for the 100th anniversary. With just one month until the performance, while teaching the choreography to the geisha, we are experiencing the scent and atmosphere of the Shinbashi entertainment district, which is the backdrop for the story.

"When I was a child, my favorite playmates were the rickshaw drivers."

For example, the rickshaws that actually ran through this neighborhood until around the beginning of the Heisei era are also part of the history of the Shimbashi geisha world. The building next to the Onoe-ryu school's rehearsal hall used to be Shimbashi's second kenban. On the first floor was the Hiyoshi-gumi rickshaw station, where the rickshaw drivers were always present. These rickshaw drivers were my favorite playmates when I was little. Even if they were playing with me, they would often disappear when they were called for work, leaving me waiting.

The rickshaws are mainly used by geisha. The Shinbashi area is surprisingly large, so rickshaws are a convenient way to get from a geisha house to a hairdresser, or to a restaurant or theater. It's a bit tiring to walk long distances dressed as a geisha. Sometimes, rickshaws would carry actors in costume from the Kabukiza Theater to the Shinbashi Enbujo Theater. When I was a child, there were more than 10 rickshaw drivers.

At the 88th Azuma Odori, where I first choreographed the "Okonomi" part of the Azuma Odori, I also included a rickshaw on stage. To me, the sight of rickshaws carrying geisha was one of the scenes that symbolized the Shinbashi entertainment district. There was even a road sign on one-way streets that read "Rickshaws excluded."

The history of the Shinbashi geisha world is full of stories like these rickshaws. Each one may be small. But the accumulation of these stories and the spirit of perfecting one's art is what has created the unique atmosphere that is unique to the Shinbashi geisha world. We hope to cherish this unique atmosphere in the 100th anniversary this year, and in the new 101st Azuma Odori that begins next year.

I am also looking forward to seeing the dances of the entertainment world from all over Japan.

With the number of geisha quarters declining all over Japan, we are extremely grateful that such an event is being held to mark the 100th anniversary. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to make this event possible. This is a wonderful opportunity to see a variety of geisha dances, so I am very much looking forward to it, and I hope that the audience will also be able to experience for themselves the differences between the dances of each geisha quarter.

"Every time I perform, I realize that this is a performance that is cherished by many people."

Every time I perform in "Azuma Odori," I truly think, "Ah, this is a performance that many people have cherished." It is precisely because it is such a performance that I feel an increased sense of responsibility to take such great care of it. I feel that there is a different kind of tension between a Japanese-style room where the audience is close by and a performance in a theater where you dance in front of a large audience.

Interview/photo cooperation: Tokyo Shinbashi Union

Text by Masao Sakurai (Office Clover)

Photography by Natsuko Okada (Studio Mug)

Kikunojo Onoe

■ Onoe Kikunojo III, fourth-generation head of the Onoe school

Born in 1976, he studied under his father from the age of two and made his debut on stage at the age of five. In 2, he succeeded the fourth head of the Onoe school and took the stage name Onoe Kikunojō III. He hosts his own recital, "Onoue Kikunojō no Kai," and "Itsusei-kai" with Kyogen performer Shigeyama Ippei. He also devotes himself to creating new works and has presented a wide range of pieces. He has directed and choreographed in a variety of genres, including new kabuki, Hanamachi dance, the Takarazuka Revue, OSK Nippon Revue, and ice skating shows "Hyouen" and "Luxe." He is a part-time lecturer at Kyoto University of Arts and a director of the Japan Dance Association.

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