English-language Kabuki, Kyogen Entertain Audiences in Tokyo; Portland State University Professor Emeritus, Graduates Perform

By Futoshi Mori / Japan News Senior Writer

17:36 JST, November 24, 2025

An event featuring English-language kyogen and kabuki was held on Sunday at the Setagaya Literature Museum in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo.

The powerful performances, complete with traditional costumes and makeup, drew enthusiastic applause from the audience of about 100 people.

The event was organized by Laurence Kominz, a student of Donald Keene and professor emeritus at Portland State University (PSU) in Oregon, and Kominz’s former students, who are graduates of the university.

It was held as part of the Donald Keene Exhibition, which is currently taking place at the museum.

Five PSU alumni performed, including one who played the Japanese flute and did makeup. Three of the five are currently teaching English at elementary, junior high and high schools in Mie, Toyama, and Yamaguchi Prefectures on the JET Program, which is run by Japan’s Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology ministry and others.

The kyogen performed were “The Mountain Wizard and the Persimmons” and the Komai dance “Kyoto Children.” In the former, a hungry monk, returning home after completing his training in a mountain, climbs a persimmon tree in a field to eat the fruit but is spotted by the field’s owner.

The kabuki performance featured a scene from “The Forty Seven Ronin,” titled “The Attack in the Palace.” The performances were all highly polished.

“Translations for stage performance differ from translations for reading,” Kominz, who has produced English versions of both kyogen and kabuki plays, explained at the venue. In translations for reading, difficult words or cultural contexts can be explained in footnotes. On stage, however, the meaning must be conveyed through the actors’ lines and movements.

Kominz noted that it is therefore sometimes necessary to paraphrase rather than provide a literal translation.

However, there are exceptions. In the kyogen performed on the day, for example, onomatopoeic sounds like animal cries were kept in Japanese, as American audiences find Japanese onomatopoeia very entertaining.

Keene came to Japan in the summer of 1953 and frequently attended performances of noh, kabuki and bunraku. In Kyoto, he became a disciple of a kyogen master and even took to the stage himself. In the United States, he became the foremost authority on Japanese traditional performing arts and literature.

Kominz, who studied under Keene at Columbia University Graduate School, has taught Japanese literature at PSU for about 40 years, focusing on traditional Japanese plays and performing arts. He has staged kabuki and kyogen performances with students throughout his career. Even after retiring in 2022, he remains active as an emeritus professor, continuing to instruct students.

“When I first met Kominz 40 years ago, the only stage costumes he had were seven or eight yukata,” Kominz’s wife, Toshimi Tanaka, said at the venue, recalling how she supported her husband as costume manager. “Thirty years later, in the 2016 performance of “Forty Seven Ronin,” we were able to put on a three-hour show with 50 student performers, 60 roles and 80 costumes.”

She said it is not easy to prepare traditional Japanese costumes in the United States. Tanaka, with the help of other Japanese women, made whatever she couldn’t find herself. She also adapted various everyday items, such as using decorations from New Year’s osechi dishes or curtain tassels for hair ornaments on wigs.

“I believe my role is to show the next generation of students that you can build a stage with creativity and ingenuity,” Tanaka said.

The audience asked the former students, “Is there anything tough about performing traditional Japanese arts?” They answered in unison, “Seiza [sitting on your heels] is tough,” prompting laughter throughout the venue.