Kwaidan

October 24, 2019
past event image
Performance past event
Shiro SanoKyoji Yamamoto
Reading with Live Music

Thursday, October 24, 7:30 PM — Followed by an ORIX Stewardship Foundation Reception

SOLD OUT. This event is sold out. A wait list will begin at the box office one hour prior to the start of the performance.

Japan’s scariest ghost stories are brought to life by acclaimed actor Shiro Sano through his dynamic reading of Kwaidan, a collection of Japanese folktales from writer Lafcadio Hearn (1850–1904). Also known as Yakumo Koizumi, Hearn was attracted to the beauty of Japan and Shintoism, which incorporates worship of nature, spirits and ancestors. Sano’s reading, accompanied by powerful and exquisite live music by distinguished guitarist Kyoji Yamamoto, illustrates Hearn’s open-minded view of Japan and the world. Preceding the live performance, folklorist Bon Koizumi, the great-grandson of Hearn and Director of the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum in the city of Matsue, will give a short lecture.

Performed in Japanese with English supertitles.

Tickets: $30/$25 members

EMPEROR SERIES: In celebration of Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, our Fall 2019 performing arts lineup is filled with programs around the theme of the emperor. Usher in the Reiwa era with ancient court music, Shinto-based folktales and a modern noh play originally created for the 123rd emperor’s enthronement.

Box Office Policy

Kwaidan is supported by Matsue City, The JEC Fund, and the ORIX Stewardship Foundation and in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Special thanks to the Embassy of Japan in the United States of America and Shimane Prefecture.

                

Images: Photo © Takashima Toshinobu; Calligraphy by Nanami Nanasawa; Shiro Sano © Lafcadio Hearn Reading Performance; Kyoji Yamamoto © Lafcadio Hearn Reading Performance.

  • Thursday, October 24, 2019
  • 7:30 pm