RICARDO FRAYHA
producer

Traditional Japanese Yukiza puppet theatre was set up by Yuki Magasoburo I in the early Edo period, the 17th Century. More than 370 years later, Magosaburo XII is the puppet master of the company from Tokyo. In the Brazilian tour, first time the company perfomed in South America, they will be performed extracts from two traditional pieces. Tsunayakata (The House of Tsuna) which recounts the battle between the chief of the Tsuna clan and a demon who, disguised as an old lady, gets in to Tsuna's House and retrieves his arm, which the warrior had cut off in a previous clash. In Shinpan Utazaimon – Nozakimura no Dan (Nozaki Village) we follow the impossible romance of two young lovers. 

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YUKIZA

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The puppet theater company Yukiza was founded by Yuki Magosaburo I, during the Edo period (1603-1868). With a history of more than 370 years the company is currently led by Magosaburo XII. According to the old document Osatsuma-Keizu, “Yukiza is the oldest puppet theater in Edo (nowadays Tokyo)”, which features interpretations of Buddhist sutras, accompanied by narrative and music from the three-string shamisen instrument. Yukiza was one of the first groups to adapt Buddhist parables for other forms of presentation, keeping up with the Joururi and Shamisen narrative, when the popularity of these types of stories became less popular. The group installed a permanent theater in the Fukiya district, Edo, and presented several works of their creation, including Meiboku-Sendaihagi (a family's struggle for feudal dominance) which is also popular in traditional Japanese Kabuki theater. After the Reformation Time (1841), five groups - three of Kabuki theater (Ichimuraza, Nakamuraza and Kawarazakiza) and two of puppet theater (Satsumaza and Yukiza) - came together and moved to Saruwaka-cho, Edo district, where they received official recognition and financial support from the shogunate. Over time, however, the Kabuki theater was lost, Satsumaza ceased to exist, and Yukiza became the only puppet theater that retained its original performance. In 1956, Yukiza was designated as an important cultural asset by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The company received recognition from the national government in 1995. Since then, with the efforts of Yuki Sessai of the Yukiza Company, it has received numerous awards from various entities. In addition to continuing with the presentations of Buddhist parables, Yukiza currently produces new works and tours them abroad, as in Europe, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and the former Soviet Union. One of the prizes received is for the Shakespeare's Macbeth version, presented in 1986 at the International Theater Festival in Belgrade. In April 2002, six Yukiza members were invited to take part in a co-production of the de Setagaya Public Theatre, in Tokyo, the National Theater la Colline, Paris, and Le Quartz, Brest. This production, Les Paravents, written by Jean Genet and directed by Frederic Fisbach (associate director at the Avignon Festival 2007), was presented in France, Japan and Austria and won the Mont Blanc Award at the Salzburg International Theater Festival . Its recent works range from classic works to modern pieces.

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YUKIZA COMPANY

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Puppetiers: Magosaburo Yuki, Chie Yuki, Ikuko Yuki, Setsuko Arakawa, Kyoko Shiokawa, Koh Hirai, Junko Hashimoto, Nozomi Nagai | Stage manager: Hitoshi Yoshiki | Light operator : Keiichi Ohya | Sound operator: Minako Teruyama | Stage assistant: Duk An Cho | Production: Maki Sawada | Light design: Shigeo Saito

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Production in Brazil: prod.art.br | Production directors: Matthias Pees, Ricardo Muniz Fernandes | Executive producer: Ricardo Frayha | Technical director: Julio Cesarini | Interpreters: Janete Aya Ohara, Marcelo Massao Hayashi

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Performances included in the special program celebrating the 100 years of Japanese immigration in Brazil. 

 

Realisation: Japan Foundtion, Sesc São Paulo | Support: Sistema FIRJAN, Funarte, Embassy Consulate of Japan in Brazil

Sesc Santos

Santos, SP, Brazil

14 and 15/02/2008

Teatro Sesi

Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

19 and 20/02/2008

Teatro Funarte Plínio Marcos

Brasília, DF, Brazil

23 and 24/02/2008

Sesc Consolação

São Paulo, SP, Brazil

27 and 28/02/2008