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Japan scholar on India mission to spread art form

Jun Imai, 70, on a visit to India after 29 years, wants to spread his love for Kabuki, a classical Japanese theatre comprising singing and dancing.

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“India is very rich in culture and I would like to know more about dance forms like Bharatanatyam and Kathak,” said Jun Imai, the Kabuki scholar from Japan.

On a visit to India after 29 years, the 70-year-old wants to spread his love for Kabuki, a classical Japanese theatre comprising singing and dancing.

Students of Japanese from Ranade Institute of Communication and Journalism, Symbiosis Institute of Foreign Languages and Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth (TMV) attended a Kabuki workshop conducted by Imai at TMV on Monday.

A retired professional, Imai is passionate about the Kabuki theatre. He fell in love with the art at 15 when his father took him to watch a performance for the first time. Acquiring in-depth knowledge and taking this art form to different parts of the world has been his passion since then.

“Kabuki originated in 1603 when a person called Okuni from Izumo city began performing a new style of dance drama on the dry river beds of Kyoto. This art form is a little difficult to understand even after 400 years, as the scripting is not very easy.

Performers wear elaborate make-up and individual characters (known as Kanji) sing, dance and perform in this form of theatre. Today I am very happy to share my knowledge with the students from Pune who have shown keen interest in Japanese culture,” he said.

Kanjincho, one of the most popular Kabuki plays, was also screened at his workshop. “There are three popular known forms of Japanese art — Bunraku (puppet show), Noh (mask show) and Kabuki (classical Japanese dance-drama),” said Imai, who finds India beautiful and wants to visit the Taj Mahal.

Shrikant Atre, founder director of Japan-Mitra Consulting Services, that invited Imai to visit Pune said, “Pune has many students pursuing Japanese and the response was tremendous.”

TMV’s Vinay Sathe said, “Apart from a graduation course in Japanese language started two years ago, we are also planning a post-graduation course from this year. The Japanese government is helping us to introduce more and more courses.”

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