Japanese Classical Dance
A Time for Innovation in Japanese Classical Dance Hirano Hidetoshi One of the new activities of the reorganized Japanese National Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkacho), the government agency that is in charge of Japan’s art and culture, is the Nihon Haku (Japan Cultural Expo) with the theme of “Japanese people and nature: the continuing ‘beauty of Japan’ from the Jomon period to the present.” This should be closely related to Japanese classical
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dance since dance is an important element of Japanese traditional culture. With this theme as its motto, the national government, local governments and private groups and enterprises are all working together to advance art forms that embody this “beauty of Japan,” aiming at passing this down to the next generation for creation of art in the future.
1. The Allure of Japanese Classical Dance Responding to this invitation, the National Theatre sponsored a recital of Kyomai (Dance of Kyoto) (November 29 and 30) with the purpose of “taking the Nihon Haku project as an opportunity to create the contents of cultural resources.” Since 1974, the National Theatre has only had performances exclusively devoted to Theatre in Japan
Theatre Yearbook 2020
