by Rebecca Copeland | Sep 27, 2023 | Japanese Culture
Part Three: The Dancers’ Practice Session “We practice at the Kokin-en. It’s close to the Funaoka Onsen,” my friend instructed. Funaoka Onsen is well known in Northwest Kyoto. Many consider it the best public bath in the city. The name “onsen” means hot spring. But,... 
by Rebecca Copeland | Sep 13, 2023 | Japanese Culture
Part Two: The Choreographer and the Secret Lessons I can’t tell you her name. I promised to keep her Nihon buyō lessons confidential. That sounds odd, I suppose. It’s not as if she is stealing secrets or trying to profit off the hard work of others. The lessons she... 
by Rebecca Copeland | Sep 23, 2020 | Japanese Culture
Mother bought me a kimono of my own for my birthday. When she understood my love of Japanese dance and my deep and growing interest in Japanese culture, she wanted me to have a kimono. She had one. Or at least she had, had one. When she lived in Japan in the 1950s a... 
by Rebecca Copeland | Jul 29, 2020 | Japanese Culture
The dancer enters the stage slowly, her feet sliding across the polished wood of the stage. With silent, measured movements she opens her paper fan, one fold at a time, turns her back and waits for the strum of the shamisen to fill the theater. Holding her fan above...
Recent Comments