東京［無形文化］祭

Foreword

The Japan Traditional Cultures Foundation is proud to present a festival of ‘intangible culture’ from Japan and the world in Tokyo. The aim of the festival is to contribute to the transmission and development of traditional and folk cultures of the highest quality. We hope thereby to enhance the status of the many and varied manifestations of traditional and folk cultures, and we hope too that this will contribute to a substantial increase in the numbers and range of people who take an active interest in these cultures.

Last year Japan experienced an earthquake of unprecedented proportions. The damage and injury wreaked by this disaster have left a still unhealed scar on the Tohoku region, especially along the coast. This region is one of the major treasuries of traditional culture in Japan. Conversely, as restoration and recovery work get under way, people are becoming increasingly aware that the traditional cultures fostered in the regions where the roots of the Japanese people lie constitute their essential spiritual bedrock.

Japan is the homeland of many wonderful traditional performing arts such as the Kabuki, Noh and Bunraku theatres. At the same time, we have many genres of ‘intangible culture’ such as Kagura and folksong that exist in villages and communities throughout the country.

Extending our field of vision out into the world at large, just as in the case of Japan, each country has its own distinctive culture that has been handed down the ages. Many of these cultures are recognized as global intangible cultural legacies, and the idea that we need to preserve and hand on these cultures as part of the legacy of humankind as a whole has now become firmly entrenched.

I believe that we have arrived at a moment when it is incumbent upon Japan, as one of the nations at the forefront of ‘intangible culture’, to stimulate an interest in outstanding ‘intangible cultures’ among the general public and to enhance awareness of the value of these cultures.

In order to convey the value of Japanese culture and to enable it to set down solid roots far and wide it is of course essential that we achieve a deeper understanding and appreciation of the cultures of other countries. There are international cities that, for historical reasons, have their own facilities and festivals charged with presenting manifestations of cultures from all over the world. We are inaugurating the Tokyo Festival of Intangible Culture with the aim of creating a festival appropriate to Tokyo as an international city so that the Japanese capital can become a base for the transmission of ‘intangible culture’ from all over the world.

Soh Fujimoto Director, Japan Traditional Cultures Foundation

Tokyo Festival of Intangible Culture

Organized, planned and produced by the Japan Traditional Cultures Foundation

with financial support from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Nippon Steel Culture Foundation, National Centre for Korean Traditional Arts (July 20 only), Asahi Shimbun Culture Foundation (July 22 only).

Cooperation: Théâtre de Paris, Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, Jangara Forum, Sōgetsukai and Sōgetsu Hall

Assistance: Embassy of the Republic of Haiti, Korean Cultural Centre, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, etc.

Art direction: Kijūrō Yahagi (Kijuro Yahagi and Associates Inc.)

Duration: July 7 to 27, 2012 (schedule may change slightly depending on response to participatory events)

Venues: Kioi Hall, Bunkamura Orchard Hall, Sōgetsu Hall, Yūrakuchō Asahi Hall

Number of performances: Three performances by overseas groups, five performances by groups from within Japan, along with participatory events