2024.08.29
DENKEN-TEST PRESS（Newsletter）weekly email newsletter “DENKEN-TEST PRESS” No. 21
We are pleased to present you with the 21st issue weekly email newsletter “DENKEN-TEST PRESS”
The top story in this issue is about Terakoya Children's Kabuki School, run by Shochiku, a company that produces and promotes Kabuki.
“Warm-up Quiz” will include answer and explanation from the previous quiz, as well as question from the field of “Traditional Colors and Patterns”.
DENKEN-TEST website publishes Practice Exam (practice questions) for levels 2 and 3.
Please give it a try and test your skills.
Level 2 Practice Exam
https://denken-test.jp/
Level 3 Practice Exam
https://denken-test.jp/
table of contents
・ Nurturing the successors of traditional culture = Shochiku's "Kabuki Terakoya"
・ “Warm-up Quiz” No. 21 (Traditional Colors and Patterns) = "The color of the sky"
・News from the DENKEN-TEST Association
Nurturing the next generation of traditional culture = Shochiku's "Kabuki Terakoya"
Children practicing hard for the performance (pictured above)
Shochiku's Children's Kabuki "Fake Momotaro: The Story of One Hundred Momochi" (Photo below: All photos provided by Shochiku)
If we do not nurture the people who will carry on traditional culture, the culture itself will disappear before it is even known. Shochiku, which produces and performs kabuki, has opened the "Kids' Kabuki School Terakoya" inside the Kabukiza Theater in Higashi Ginza, Tokyo, where it teaches kabuki acting and Japanese etiquette. Fujima Kanjuro, the head instructor of the Japanese dance department, is concerned about the future, but he smiles and looks forward, saying, "I want to make kabuki something that three generations of parents and children can enjoy. I would be happy if many children who study at Terakoya become kabuki actors or Japanese dancers."
◇ Expanding the fan base
According to the PIA Research Institute's "White Paper on Live Entertainment," the size of the kabuki market has been around 20 billion ~ 25 billion yen since 2000, except for a few years such as 2020, when it fell due to the coronavirus pandemic, but there is strong concern about the future in the kabuki world. Shochiku believes that "it is important for audiences to continue to change generations in traditional Entertainment such as kabuki, and we must get young people interested in it and broaden its base." Kanjuro's face clouds as he says, "Currently, only a few hundred people are involved in the entertainment of kabuki, and if this continues, kabuki culture may not be able to survive."
In 2014, Shochiku opened the Terakoya with the aim of allowing people to experience traditional Japanese culture through Kabuki, as well as educating and training young people. The school is aimed at students from ages four to junior high school, and currently has about 120 students.
Classes are divided into one-year "Basic" and one-year "Advanced" courses, with students moving on to the "Advanced" course from the third year onwards. Furthermore, for those interested in a career related to Kabuki, there are "Kabuki" and "Women's Dance" courses for junior high school students. In the Basic Course, students learn traditional Japanese etiquette, such as how to put on a yukata, how to stand and behave in Japanese clothing, and how to start and end with a bow, as well as the basics of Kabuki and Japanese dance performance. In the Advanced and Advanced Courses, students undergo more practical training, which Shochiku says "is also connected to training child Kabuki actors."
◇Learn about harmony and hone your sensibilities
This month, children from the temple school will perform an original dance drama, "Fake Momotaro: The Story of a Hundred Peaches," at the Kabukiza Tower Hall. Based on the folk tale "Momotaro," the play was written by Shochiku's Kabuki scriptwriter Kazuhisa Tobe, and directed and choreographed by Kanjuro.
Eighteen people from the advancement course participated, and over the two days they demonstrated the results of a year's training in front of an audience of about 230 people. Tobe pointed out, "(To convey tradition) it is important to have the best equipment and costumes, as well as the best staff, and let children experience the real thing." The lines and choreography were not aimed at children, but were the same as for adults. The aim was to "let them take on traditional culture" (Kanjuro).
After the performance, Sota Iwase (6th grade elementary school student), who played the role of Momotaro, said, "I want to continue to convey Japanese traditional culture to many people and spread it overseas." As globalization progresses, opportunities to experience traditional culture are decreasing, especially among the younger generation, and Tobe emphasized the significance of this, saying, "Knowing the spirit of harmony leads to understanding the cultures of other countries and sharpens children's rich sensibilities."
“Warm-up Quiz” No. 21 (Traditional Colors and Patterns) = "Sky colors"
~Questions will be categorized by genre from DENKEN-TEST textbook (pre-release scheduled for September 20th)~
The blue sky and the red of the sunset mix together to create a pale purple sky.
21st
Question: According to the 24 solar terms, one of the Japanese calendars introduced from China, it is already autumn. At dusk during this season, the blue sky and the red of the setting sun mix together to create a pale purple color. Since ancient times, the sky has been given various color names. This sky color is called "○○ sky color," but what word goes in for ○○?
(Answer and explanation in the next issue)
Kitagawa Utamaro: Copy of "The Three Beauties of the Kansei Era"
[Previous questions, answers and explanations]
Question: The "Kansei Three Beauties" are paintings of beautiful women by the Edo period ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro, and are thought of as cool summer ukiyo-e. Who was the publisher that published and sold this?
Answer: Tsutaya Juzaburo
Description: "Kansei Three Beauties" is one of the masterpieces of Kitagawa Utamaro, an ukiyo-e artist of the late Edo period who specialized in painting beautiful women. Publisher Tsutaya Juzaburo was in charge of publishing, promoting, and selling the book, and it is said that it sold like hotcakes due to the popularity of Utamaro and the three beauties. The woman in the top row of the painting is Tomimoto Toyo Hina, a geisha in Yoshiwara and a performer of the Joruri Tomimoto Bushi style. The two women in the bottom row are both poster girls for teahouses that served tea to passersby in the grounds of temples and shrines. The one on the left is Takashimaya Ohisa in Ryogoku Yagenbori, and the one on the right is Namba-ya Ohisa in front of Asakusa Suijinmon. Tsutaya Juzaburo will be the main character of the 2025 NHK Taiga drama "Berabou."
News from DENKEN-TEST Association
▼We hope that the younger generation who will shoulder the future of Japan will understand the value of traditional culture and take DENKEN-TEST. To that end, we have recently set up a student discount for group exams of 10 or more people, with exam fees (including consumption tax) of 7,700 yen for Level 2 (usually 9,900 yen) and 5,500 yen for Level 3 (7,480 yen). We recently received an inquiry from a high school about taking the exam, and we will continue to create an environment that makes it easier for students to take the exam. General group discounts will be announced soon on our official website.
▼Last week, I went to the traditional craft exhibition "Visiting Items That Last a Lifetime" held by Mitsubishi Jisho Residences at Maru Building (Marunouchi, Tokyo). Crafts from around the country were on display and for sale, including Nanbu ironware (Iwate Prefecture), Wajima lacquerware (Ishikawa Prefecture), Seto sometsuke ware (Aichi Prefecture), hand-painted yuzen (Kyoto Prefecture), and Kishu paulownia chests (Wakayama Prefecture). There was also a talk show by craftspeople entitled "Inheriting traditional crafts - Aiming for the revival of Wajima lacquerware." A representative from the company said, "This is a place to spread the word about the greatness of Japan's traditional crafts. We hope it will be of some help to craftspeople who are facing issues such as declining demand and a lack of successors."
Editor's Note
We have delivered the 21st issue DENKEN-TEST PRESS. It is "Autumn" according to the calendar. The autumn breeze can be felt faintly in the mornings and evenings. Food and art are what heal the body tired from the heat. This autumn will be a time to go to various exhibitions and eat lots of delicious food.
Category: DENKEN-TEST PRESS