features
KYOGEN
Kyogen Takes
Center Stage
Miles Gordenker ‘09
on this year’s kyogen
performance
N
ever let it be said that ASIJ is out
of touch with the culture of its
host country—ASIJ students
have been performing kyogen, a comical
form of traditional Japanese theater,
annually for 32 years now. Though
kyogen was developed alongside the
more solemn noh theater, its purpose is
to entertain, not teach.
However, entertaining the audience
while following the rigid rules of Kyogen
is anything but simple. ASIJ students
work hard under the watchful eyes of
Okura School actors Noritada Yamamoto,
Hiroyoshi Endo, and Takasai Wakamatsu,
who make sure the traditional styles
are followed religiously. They are fond
of saying that “Kyogen is kyogen”—
you can’t change an art form with an
illustrious history just to suit ASIJ.
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KYOGEN
Students don’t seem to mind the
pickiness of their teachers though. Both
Endo-sensei and Yamamoto-sensei
are designated “Intangible National
Treasures” for their contributions to
Japanese theater, and are highly respected
by the students. These men proudly carry
on theatrical traditions dating back to the
15th century, and their sense of purpose
seems to infect the youngsters they
supervise. “Working with the national
treasures was definitely the best part”
explains two-year veteran Fusa Kambara.
“I mean, how often do kids our age get
to work with people who are the best in
the world at what they do?”
Director Yukari McCagg couldn’t
agree more. McCagg claims that learning
traditional manners and intonation that
are integral parts of Kyogen performances
kicks the student maturation process
into overdrive. “Learning about Japan
from experts on ancient Japanese
culture is great for our students” she
says excitedly. “It really opens their eyes
to a whole new world.”
Kyogen performances are especially
beneficial to the ASIJ community. Many
ASIJ students and parents are relatively
sheltered from Japanese culture, especially
when it comes to ancient art forms. Even
performances by professional actors
are of little use if the audience can’t
understand what’s going on.
Enter the ASIJ translators. Bilingual
students translate the scripts on a
volunteer basis for projection onto
screens adjacent to the stage. The hard
work of these talented students makes
the play accessible to non-Japanese
speakers, and easier to understand for
fluent Japanese speakers. This unique
adaptation also represents a compromise
between national treasures unwilling
to convert the play into English and
the need to reach out to the English-
speaking student body.
ASIJ brings other unique aspects to
kyogen too. This year’s cast included
two speaking actors with no Japanese
blood, five elementary students, and
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KYOGEN ASIJ BUSES

English teacher Mr. Ingebritson, who and didn’t even have acting experience. of emphasis on props and special effects.

will retire this year. Such a diverse cast of
performers only exists at ASIJ, and would
It was good to be on stage.” Despite
having two American parents, Wynne
On the O
n Monday September 23, 1963 several rented, blue-
However, in kyogen you have a very
striped white buses, driven by uniformed and gloved
sparsely decorated stage and all sorts of

be unthinkable at performances hosted by
the traditional families of actors.
The kyogen performances offer
boasts near-native fluency in Japanese
thanks to her time at Japanese school.
However, she found plenty of food for
Buses:
drivers, wound their way through the narrow streets of
rules to follow. It’s always a challenge to
Tokyo. At each bus stop, students eagerly climbed on board and
reconcile the two styles.”
upon recognition by their schoolmates, were greeted with shouts
That’s what ASIJ is all about:
of joy and laughter, remembers Rodger E. Burkley ‘70. As the

then and now

tremendous opportunities for non-native
English speakers. Senior, and veteran
kyogen actor, Wynne Callon summarizes:
“It was a great experience. I’d never been
exposed to anything like kyogen before,
thought during practice.
“Kyogen provides a really interesting
contrast between Western and Japanese
culture,” she observes. “In Western theater
pretty much anything goes and there’s a lot
incorporating elements of both America
numbers grew, excitement escalated in anticipation of seeing
and Japan. Though it’s not always easy,
their destination for the very first time—as these were—the
hopefully ASIJ will continue to straddle
very first bus rides to the very first day of school at ASIJ’s new
the cultural fence. And what better way
campus located on the “outskirts of Tokyo.”
to do so than kyogen?
Director of transportation, As the buses continued along their routes on the narrow,
crowded back streets and secondary roads, the bus ride had become
Janet Witt, takes a look at five long, circuitous and drawn out. Excitement began to wane. After
what seemed like an eternity, the buses finally turned onto a wider,

Fan-tastic! decades of bus rides to ASIJ,

High schoolers aren’t the only ones learning traditional Japanese culture faster road——the Shuto expressway was still only partially built—
as the ES Nihon Buyo group demonstrate in these pictures. Lead by parent although they were still making their way out of Tokyo. After

Kyoko Takano, the students learn Japanese cultural arts and how to dance
Nihon Buyo in the ES
in traditional kimono. This year the group performed at the opening of the
Spring Gala, where their moves won them a new group of fans.
what’s changed, and how our
mobile community remains as
tight as ever on the road.
about an hour, the crowded streets and neighborhoods turned into
small farms and fields. At long last, the buses turned onto a rather
primitive, muddy, dirt road and the drivers carefully and slowly
threaded and negotiated their way down a big hill.
After a long and arduous two hours, the bus riders were finally

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