Latest news with #HanakurabeSenbonzakura
The Mainichi
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
In Photos: Live, virtual Kabuki performances intertwine in Osaka Expo show
A scene from the Expo 2025 version of the show "Hanakurabe Senbonzakura" is seen at the Expo venue in Osaka's Konohana Ward on May 24, 2025. (Mainichi/Tadashi Kako)
The Mainichi
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Kabuki star Nakamura Shido joins Vocaloid 'Hatsune Miku' in high-tech Osaka Expo show
OSAKA -- A Kabuki performance co-starring actor Nakamura Shido and virtual diva Hatsune Miku was staged during the Osaka Expo on May 24, with a performing arts group in Taiwan also making a virtual appearance on stage. The "Cho Kabuki" (literally, "super Kabuki") performance utilized Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT)'s next-generation communication technology IOWN. Short for Innovative Optical and Wireless Network, IOWN can provide high-speed and low-latency transmission of large volumes of data. NTT launched its first international IOWN network in August 2024 between Japan and Taiwan. Cho Kabuki has been popular since it was premiered in 2016 by Shochiku Co. and others utilizing the NTT technology. During the latest show, a special edition of the first production "Hanakurabe Senbonzakura" was staged at Expo Hall Shining Hat in Osaka's Konohana Ward. The show portrays a struggle between good and evil by fusing the world views of Kabuki's classic "Yoshitsune Senbonzakura" and Hatsune Miku's signature piece "Senbonzakura." Members of Taiwan's Chio-Tian Folk Drums & Art Troupe appeared virtually as "gods beyond the seas," engaging in a folk performing arts program that is seen during festivals in Taiwan. Footage of performers at the Expo venue on Yumeshima Island and their counterparts at a hall in Taiwan was sent in both directions, enabling joint appearances from their respective stages, transcending the border between reality and virtual space through the traditional performing arts and cutting-edge cultures of Japan and Taiwan.
