Artist in Residence
Intriguing Performances
In January 2024, Yuranza’s artists created a captivating “Soil & 5 Grains (wheat, rice, beans, foxtail millet, proso millet)” performance from scratch in two days for a food tour that included a temple stay at Kakurinbo in the Minobu countryside. They performed the show before Buddhist statues and under golden decorations of heavens, with a faint fragrance of incense in the air. During this private show, stage actor Ryo Yoshimi, dancer Oriha Kato, shamisen player Tetsuya Okano, and taiko player Shunichiro Kamiya were joined by a local priest swinging and rotating a matoi pole, which is normally wielded during local matsuri (festivals).
During this immersive experience, the thunderous beats of the colossal taiko drum shook the audience from head to toes, and the dramatic voice of the stage actor moving in lights and shadows accompanied an emotional storytelling. This performance was also participative, with the audience playing an easy rhythm on a simple musical instrument during specified periods.