Monday, June 9, 2008

Japanese Traditional Art

I learnt something about Japanese traditional art forms last week.

Firstly, I took a paid holiday and went to a workshop about Kabuki on Wednesday. I learnt what Kabuki is, how it developed, why only male actors are able to act in it, why many stories are so complicated, how to enjoy it and so on. It was very interesting for me that I could watch it.



Secondly, I had lunch with some friends in Tenjin on Sunday, then went and watched Rakugo, Japanese traditional humorous story-telling. This was my first time to watch a Rakugo live show. Storytellers usually talk about recent topics at first, make us laugh and then relay the topic to classic storytelling using gestures and facial expressions. It was a lot of fun, but their topic sounded jumpy for me. Some of my friends actually slept for a moment. If they could relay the topic more naturally or arrange a classic in a modern style, it would be more interesting, I personally think.

But still, it was good for me to know about Japanese traditional culture this week. There are a lot of things I do not know about. Life is full of lessons, isn't it?

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