Bando Tamasaburo’s Performance, Crafts, Tea Ceremony Set for November; Special Cuisine to be Served at MOA Museum of Art

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, October 9, 2023

A special event featuring a tea ceremony using tea bowls created by celebrated craftspeople will take place from Nov. 5 to 7 at the MOA Museum of Art in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture. There will also be a lunch and a special dance performance by kabuki star Bando Tamasaburo.

The event, Kogei Dining, is part of the Japan Cultural Expo 2.0, which is organized by the government to promote tourism, culture and the arts. The program for Kogei Dining includes a tea ceremony experience at the teahouse Ippaku-an on the museum grounds. This is a fitting connection with an exhibition to be held at the museum is “Miwa Kyusetsu XIII Creating Forms in Chanoyu,” which showcases Hagi-ware tea bowls created by Miwa Kyusetsu XIII.

Miwa is one of the three prominent craftspeople who will give a talk during the tea ceremony over the three days. Bamboo craft specialist Noboru Fujinuma, a living national treasure in his field, will speak on Nov. 5; Koishiwara-ware potter Zenzo Fukushima, also a living national treasure, will be the speaker on Nov. 6; and Miwa will speak on Nov. 7.

Tamasaburo, a living national treasure of kabuki, will perform “Sankyokuito no Shirabe” from the kabuki play “Dan no Ura Kabuto Gunki” in a production by Atamiza, a theater project of the museum. He will also play three instruments — the koto zither, the shamisen three-stringed lute and the kokyu fiddle.

Booking can be made at the Yomiuri Travel Service. Participants will be asked to arrive at the museum by 10 a.m. on the day of their participation, and the event will end at 5:30 p.m. A Japanese-style lunch will be served on Nov. 5 and 6, and a French-style lunch will be served on Nov. 7. The participation fee is ¥45,000 per person for Nov. 5 and 6 and ¥49,000 for Nov. 7.

For bookings and inquiries, please visit the Yomiuri Travel Service website .