Kabuki and paper airplanes

FOR MANY AMERICANS and people from other younger countries—and that includes me—the approach to traditional culture requires an attitude of respect and reverence that does not admit of tomfoolery. The idea is put your socks on, wear nice clothes, sit up straight, and keep the chatter to a minimum. Put down that comic book, spit out the gum, and wipe that grin off your face!

It’s with that outlook (or baggage) that many of us come to Japan, where one encounters more tradition in a five-minute walk down the street than the average American will see in an entire month. Ah, but this country is full of surprises, and the way the Japanese handle their traditions continues to surprise me even after a quarter of a century.

That isn’t to say the Japanese aren’t serious or don’t behave with respect. Rather, there seems to be less of a barrier between their traditions and daily life. The general idea seems to be that a person can be serious and still have fun.

An excellent illustration is the annual goings-on at the Kaho Theater of Iizuka, Fukuoka, a small kabuki playhouse built in the style of those popular during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The theater was extensively damaged by flooding after heavy rains in July 2003, and every year since then the facility holds a special summer event to commemorate the restoration. It’s partly a gesture of thanks to the local people for their financial contributions, but it’s also a way to eliminate any potentially intimidating invisible barriers separating them from the residents, particularly children.

The event is held for a maximum of 100 primary school children, and this year runs from 18-20 July, a Saturday afternoon to a Monday afternoon. (That Monday is a national holiday.)

Here are some of the activities the children will see or participate in during the event:

• A juggling performance on the kabuki stage
• A paper airplane contest, with the participants launching their creations from the stage
• A giant origami contest
• An outdoor barbecue party
• A sing-along with jazz music
• Ghost stories at night
• Camping out in the theater’s box seats (the traditional design makes this easy)
• A jump rope contest
• Bowling matches using the hanamichi as the lanes. The hanamichi in a kabuki theater is an elevated runway that runs from the stage to the rear of the hall.
• Somen nagashi (That link shows you everything you need to know.)

It’s common practice in Japan to have the participants write their impressions of an event at its conclusion, particularly school children. They’re called kansobun. The children at the Kaho Theater will be asked to write haiku as their kansobun.

Another common practice—which I think should be exported to the United States immediately—is for the participants to work together to clean up the site after an event is officially declared over, and put everything back where it belongs. They’re going to do that here, too.

It’s not going to be all fun and games, of course. There will be guided tours of the facility, short kabuki demonstrations, and lectures.

The price for the full weekend is JPY 2,500 ($US 26.00) per participant.

Now how’s that for a way to get children comfortable with traditional culture?

Then again, kabuki was originally pop culture, so perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised at all.