What's on at the Asian (San Francisco)

[Saionji Shonagon]

asianart.org/bamboo.htm#events

For February and March, a new show on bamboo crafts, a koto concert and tea ceremony demos.

I definitely would love to catch the koto concert on March 8 after work. And maybe the tea workshop....

Saionji

[Saionji Shonagon]

Cherish the Old, Know the New:
Onko Chishin: Kimono no Saisei-A Kimono Renaissance

Thursday, April 19
2:00 pm & 7:00 pm
Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum, Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA

$7 members, $19 general (includes museum admission)
Tickets available here March 19 or Admissions Desk

Artist and designer Nobuaki Tomita is one of Japan’s most influential kimono producers and stylists. His work is dedicated to recreating traditional Japanese costume for period dramas and developing new fashions using traditional textiles to support the work of endangered artisans. In this presentation, Tomita will display several ensembles authentically representing different periods of Japanese fashion, from the days of Prince Genji more than 1,000 years ago, to the high style of Geisha, to the dress of contemporary women, as represented by characters in Japanese NHK television serial morning “dramas.” In Japanese with English translation.
asianart.org/bamboo.htm#events

I MUST GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tatsuyama Hideyoshi]

OMGOOSE!!! i wanna go......

i be on the east coast during these times though.



yoshi

[Saionji Shonagon]

makiwara said:

I definitely would love to catch the koto concert on March 8 after work.

It was worth it. I've been suffering fools, well, one particular fool, and a water heater pilot light that will not stay lit for several days. It's been such a sucky week I almost didn't go and then I said, "Screw it," and hopped a BART to Civic Center.

I killed an hour before the concert in the Japanese gallery. The Asian is a downtown museum - they rotate pieces on exhibit to maximize use of space and their collection. The two byobu in current rotation are an early Edo (mid 17th century) depiction of horse racing and a later Edo one of episodes from The Tale of the Heike. I'll download my pics tomorrow and see if any of the detail shots came out - if the date is right on the first one, I have evidence of kataginu with Joan Crawford shoulders and hakama with koshi-ita from c. 1650.

When is it appropriate for a mature, married woman to wear "girlish" furisode? When she plays the koto - the longer sleeves will not get caught in the strings, they just slide out of the way.

Nakamura-sensei's solo on Midare was marvelous, plus it was just plain fascinating to watch the techniques used to produce bent notes, vibrato and other effects. The shakuhachi soloist (who studied his art through a komuso school) was exquisite and his playing did much to soothe the disharmonies of the week. Much of the rest of the program was more modern ensemble pieces which allowed Nakamura-sensei's students to shine. The finale was, believe it or not, an arrangement of "California Dreamin'" for koto ensemble and shakuhachi.

The Kyara Sound Team ensemble does not currently have any CDs available. If you are interested in koto, I have been enjoying the work of Nanae Yoshimura on The Art of the Koto Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

[Henmei]

If you would like to hear some more traditional sounds, there is a free concert next door (Main SFPL, Koret Auditorium) on Saturday, 3/17 at 3pm. One shakuhachi, one koto, and one shamisen. They will each perform a solo in the first half, and then return after intermission for a sankyoku piece (Yaegoromo).

www.shakuhachi.com/X-SFConcert.html

I would have introduced myself, but once I finished talking to Kamiya sensei, you were gone. You might not have recognized me from my photographs.

[Saionji Shonagon]

I would have introduced myself, but once I finished talking to Kamiya sensei, you were gone. You might not have recognized me from my photographs.

What photographs? Have I missed something? (Nobody at the concert was wearing an upended laundry basket either.....)

Hot damn, I have no event on the 17th? How did that happen?

[Saionji Shonagon]

Photos are up at: new.photos.yahoo.com/wodeford/album/576460762392937555

My digital is still a bit challenged by low light levels and no flash. I'm getting a little better at playing with the manual mode, but I apologize for some blurry bits. The concert photos were taken while instruments were being tuned, not during the actual performance.

Hmmm, the last guy on the left here seems sorta familar, brown armor, showing me his back.....
new.photos.yahoo.com/wodeford/album/576460762392937555/photo/294928804270186999/33

[Saionji Shonagon]

makiwara said:

Cherish the Old, Know the New:
Onko Chishin: Kimono no Saisei-A Kimono Renaissance

Thursday, April 19
2:00 pm & 7:00 pm
Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum, Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA

$7 members, $19 general (includes museum admission)
Tickets available here March 19 or Admissions Desk

Artist and designer Nobuaki Tomita is one of Japan’s most influential kimono producers and stylists. His work is dedicated to recreating traditional Japanese costume for period dramas and developing new fashions using traditional textiles to support the work of endangered artisans. In this presentation, Tomita will display several ensembles authentically representing different periods of Japanese fashion, from the days of Prince Genji more than 1,000 years ago, to the high style of Geisha, to the dress of contemporary women, as represented by characters in Japanese NHK television serial morning “dramas.” In Japanese with English translation.
asianart.org/bamboo.htm#events

[Saionji Shonagon]

makiwara said:

Cherish the Old, Know the New:
Onko Chishin: Kimono no Saisei-A Kimono Renaissance

OK, they misrepresented what was going to be shown. The event description clearly states:

In this presentation, Tomita will display several ensembles authentically representing different periods of Japanese fashion, from the days of Prince Genji more than 1,000 years ago, to the high style of Geisha, to the dress of contemporary women, as represented by characters in Japanese NHK television serial morning “dramas.”

What was actually presented were Tomita-san's designs of Edo, Meiji, Taisho and Showa period character costumes for film and television, plus modern fashion designs. The closest they got to "the days of Prince Genji" were several uwagi worn by high ranking samurai women in the shogun's palace. The fabric was clearly influenced by Heian styles, itsutsuginu were represented by false layers at sleeve edge, collar and hem and the whole was worn over trad kimono and obi, which means that the uwagi was (a) dragged backward off the neck to drape over the kimono beneath and (b) there was the inevitable haori-obi-lump effect.

That having been said, there were some gorgeous textiles in evidence. Tomita-san began the presentation by having his three samurai retainers help roll out a bolt of silk so the audience would have an idea just how much fabric went into a kimono. The bolt was re-rolled and handed off to a lady who proceeded, during the course of the evening to assemble it into a nagajuban. Granted, it wasn't hemmed and she didn't have to deal with unfinished seams like some of us, but she was FAST!

More on this later, I have to dash to work!

[Saionji Shonagon]

Photos are up. As you can see by the constant state of blur, Tomita-san is a cheerful, energetic man who doesn't hold still much. He talked about his work through translater Melissa Rinne and answered what were pretty basic questions on kimono.
new.photos.yahoo.com/wodeford/album/576460762398811671

The first two shots are of costumes from a drama about the marriage of Lady Hiro Saga, a member of the Japanese Imperial Family, to the brother of the last Emperor of China. For more on this 1930's alliance, go here:
www.city.chiba.jp/ward/e-inage/history/aisinkakurahuketsu.html

The Heian inspired uwagi mentioned in my post of this morning can also be seen on display, and then modeled at the very end of the album. If you look closely at the sleeves and hems, you can see how flat the false layers are. Still pretty though....

Photos 61 - 64 are of brocades used for Noh costumes, plus two costumes themselves. #65 was the silk bolt that was sailed down the aisle by Tomita-san's three "samurai" assistants and sewn into a nagajuban. It has animals from the Choju Jiga, one of my favorite emaki on it. toban-meiga.up.seesaa.net/arts/02-ChojuGiga_n.jpg

#112 is the man who modeled an Edo period high ranking samurai costume worn by a villain in a TV series. I approached him at the end of the program, bowed, held out my camera and said "Dozo?" He BEAMED, then brandished his wakizashi at me. So of course I bowed and thanked him in Japanese afterward.

I was about to do the same to one of the samurai assistants, when he said, "Hang on, let me get my mom and brother." It turns out Mom was the speed sewer. Only moments earlier, I had walked over to her work table and given her a standing ovation. I'm fast, but not that fast.

I unfortunately did not get any shots of the exquisite obi woven to depict the mountain range surrounding Himi City. Tomita's modern fashion designs are as amazing as his period costumes.

[Saionji Shonagon]

Kabuki Costuming & Make-up
Friday—Sunday, February 15—17; Friday, February 22; Saturday, February 23, 12:00 noon–4:00 pm
FREE with museum admission

Nakamura Kanzo IV discusses Kabuki costuming and performs make-up demonstrations. After finding inspiration in this topic, make your own Kabuki-inspired artwork to take home.

Kabuki Meets Shakespeare
Thursday, February 21, 7:00 pm
FREE with museum admission ($5 after 5 pm on Thursday evenings)

Awarded The Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Emperor of Japan and the Certificate of Commendation by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan for his promotion of Japanese culture throughout the world, Nakamura Kanzo IV (Kabuki stage name of Shozo Sato) has received international recognition for creating a new form of Kabuki in which the plots of well-known Western classics have been adapted to introduce a new genre in the conventions of Kabuki. He has conceived, designed, and directed award-winning productions of Kabuki Lady MacBeth, Iago’s Plot , Achilles: A Kabuki Play, Kabuki Othello, Kabuki Faust, and Kabuki Macbeth. These works have captivated and thrilled audiences throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, and the United States. At the Asian Art Museum, Nakamura Kanzo IV introduces the art of Kabuki theatre and discusses his adapations of Western classics. Actors Barbara Robertson and Michael Goldberg enact a scene from the acclaimed production Kabuki Lady Macbeth.

Film Screening: Hannari - Geisha Modern
Thursday, March 27, 7:00 pm
FREE with museum admission (only $5 after 5:00 pm on Thursdays)

Hannari: Geisha Modern is a documentary film, unique in its approach and unprecedented in its access to the exclusive geishas of Kyoto. It shows the Geisha as dedicated artists and proud purveyors of Japanese tradition in their full glory. Producer and director Miyuki Sohara will introduce the film.

Ukiyo-e and Edo Period Culture: A Kimono Fashion Show featuring Tomita Nobuaki
Saturday, April 5, 1:30 pm

$5 Members and children under 12, $13 Seniors, $12 college students and youth aged 12–17, $17 general
Space limited. Tickets on sale beginning March 5 at www.asianart.org or Admission Desk

Japanese kimono stylist and textile designer Tomita Nobuaki presents his second kimono fashion show at the Asian Art Museum, this time inspired by the ukiyo-e images of the floating world in the special exhibition Drama and Desire. Tomita, known for his high-profile work costuming Japanese movie stars and actors in period dramas, has worked with weavers and artisans in Kyoto to create kimono and obi textiles evoking the paintings featured in the exhibition, as well as other aspects of Edo period culture (1615–1868), such as lion dancing. The performance includes his unveiling of new designs created in collaboration with San Francisco artist Gary Bukovnik as well as a performance by lion dancers from the city of Himi in Toyama prefecture, Japan. (In Japanese with English translation.)