Rediscovering Traditional Performing Arts in Fushimi (2024–2026)
Rediscovering Fushimi! Rediscovering Japan’s Traditional Storytelling Arts!
Program
- Keynote Lecture
History and geography of Fushimi, connecting to the three storytelling arts
Masahiro Wakabayashi, Chairman, Fushimi Castle Research Association - Kōdan
Kyoko Kanda
The Battle of Toba–Fushimi and the Imperial Brocade Banner
— Intermission —
- Rōkyoku
Keiko Haruno (Shamisen: Hazuki Ippūtei)
Kesato and Moritō - Rakugo
Shiodai Katsura
Sanjikkoku Yume no Kayoi-ji - Concurrent Exhibition
Fushimi as Depicted in Quilts by Sayoko Hayashi
(Kuretake Mini Gallery, next to the hall entrance) - Special Exhibition
Illustrated scrolls and related materials presented by the Institute of Advanced Imaging Engineering
(Open all day, free of charge)
Profiles of Lecturers, Performers, and Exhibitors
Masahiro Wakabayashi (Special Guest Appearance)
Born in 1968 in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Doshisha University.
Chairman of the Fushimi Castle Research Association.
Actively involved in the local Fushimi Castle Research Association, Wakabayashi has devoted himself to the study of Fushimi’s regional history. Since 2013, he has conducted over 200 fieldwork sessions and delivered numerous lectures.
His work goes beyond academic research; with a strong focus on community building, he has volunteered extensively by giving lectures on Fushimi’s history, appearing on television and radio programs, and serving as a historical advisor and supervisor.
Publications include co-authored works such as Learning Kyoto: Fushimi Edition (Nakanishiya Publishing) and Report on the On-site Investigation of the Ruins of Fushimi Castle (Osaka Historical Society), as well as single-author articles including “The Transformation of the Ruins of Fushimi Castle” (Kyoto Studies / Rekisaikan Bulletin, No. 3), “Postwar Professional Baseball Promotions in Kyoto through Local and Trade Newspapers” (Museum Bulletin, No. 44), and “The Keihan Rokujizō Line, Shin-Keihan Yamashina Line, and the Nagoya Express” (Museum Bulletin, No. 43).
Kyoko Kanda
Professional kōdan (traditional narrative storytelling) performer.
In 1999, she became a disciple of the second-generation Kanda Sanyō. After his passing, she continued her training under Kanda Yōko. In 2014, she was promoted to shin’uchi (master performer) by both the Japan Kōdan Association and the Rakugo Geijutsu Association.
In addition to performing regularly at vaudeville theaters, kōdan gatherings, and solo recitals, she actively organizes collaborative performances under the concept of “Kōdan + α,” combining kōdan with other art forms.
She received the Agency for Cultural Affairs Art Festival Award (Excellence Prize) in 2021 (76th edition) for works including The Life of Misuzu Kaneko – Toward the Brighter Side, as well as the Gifu Prefecture Art and Culture Encouragement Award in the same year.
Her husband is the poet Takiya Kuwabara. She is the mother of one child. Since 2020, she has been based in Yamaguchi, working between Yamaguchi and Tokyo while exploring new possibilities for contemporary kōdan from a dual regional perspective.
Keiko Haruno
Born in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. Lived in Dallas, Texas, USA, from the ages of four to six.
Graduated from Shirayuri Gakuen Junior and Senior High School, and later from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Education, Department of Physical Education and Health Education.
After graduating, she debuted as “Tutor Keiko” on popular television programs such as Susumu! Denpa Shōnen and Denpa Shōnen-teki Tōdai Icchokusen. She went on to appear in numerous television dramas, including Emergency Room 24 Hours, Star no Koi, and Abarenbō Shōgun, as well as variety shows such as Waratte Iitomo! and Tokyo Friend Park. She also appeared in commercials for brands including Shiseido and House Foods, contributed serialized articles to magazines such as Tarzan, Croissant, and Monthly Sumo, and appeared on the cover of Pia magazine.
In 2003, she became a disciple of the second-generation Haruno Yuriko, the leading female rōkyoku performer of the Kamigata region and an Osaka Intangible Cultural Property, formally requesting apprenticeship backstage at the National Bunraku Theatre. The following year, she shaved her head, moved to Osaka, and began rigorous training. She made her stage debut in 2006.
She performs regularly at venues such as Isshinji Monzen Rōkyoku Yose, Tenma Tenjin Hanjōtei, Yamamoto Noh Theatre, and Kamigata Traditional Performing Arts Night, and also participates in cross-genre collaborations, theatrical productions, and NHK performing arts programs.
Her awards include the Sakuya Konohana Prize (Popular Entertainment category), the Kansai Genki Culture Area Award, and the Sakuyahime Award from the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In 2013, she presented Japan’s first full-length rōkyoku performance in English at Yamamoto Noh Theatre. She has sung the Japanese national anthem at Kyocera Dome during an Orix vs. Hanshin interleague game, successfully performed in New York in 2014, and since then has toured internationally in countries including China, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Italy, Ireland, and Mongolia.
She is currently a regular cast member of the long-running popular TV program Gussan-chi, now in its 20th year, and serves as a director of the Japan Rōkyoku Performers Association.
Shiodai Katsura
Born in Kyoto Prefecture in 1955.
In 1977, while studying at Ritsumeikan University, he became a disciple of Katsura Asamaru (now the second-generation Katsura Zakoba), and is the senior-most apprentice of the lineage.
- 1977: Made his stage debut at Suzume no Kai at Yuikyō-ji Temple in Ibaraki City
- 1983: Won the Grand Prize for Best Newcomer at the ABC Manzai and Rakugo Newcomer Competition
- 1998–2000: Lecturer, Department of Japanese Literature, Osaka Seikei University
- 1999: Received the Agency for Cultural Affairs Art Festival Award (Excellence Prize)
- 2003: Received the Osaka Performing Arts Encouragement Award
- 2010: Officially assumed the stage name Katsura Shiodai
- 2018: Awarded the Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Merit Award
Sayoko Hayashi
Handicraft artist and landscape quilt artist.
Born in 1965. Lives in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto.
Graduated from Ueda College of Fashion, Department of Fashion Creation.
Aspiring to become a craft artist from an early age, Hayashi developed her own unique methods of design drafting and sewing, distinct from American patchwork traditions, through self-directed study. In 2000, she began her creative activities by converting her family machiya townhouse into the Machiya Quilt Studio (registered trademark No. 4799241), and simultaneously opened the Machiya Quilt School.
Working independently without affiliation to any specific craft organization, she continues to present works that reflect her distinctive artistic worldview.
In 2018, she was selected as an artist for the Kami no Te Nippon (Hands of God Japan) Project, Phase IV.
For those who wish to familiarize themselves with the performances in advance…
kōdan (Traditional narrative storytelling)
Illustrated Scrolls of the Bakumatsu–Meiji Restoration × Traditional Art of Kōdan × Reiwa-Era Digital Technology
Learning history preserved in illustrated scrolls:
The Battle of Toba–Fushimi and the Imperial Brocade Banner
A Turbulent Tale of the Late Edo Period, Unfolding in the Illustrated Scrolls of the Boshin War Preserved at Ninnaji Temple
This program presents the dramatic story of the late Edo period and the Meiji Restoration as depicted in the Boshin War Picture Scrolls preserved at Ninnaji Temple.
The complete set of scrolls extends over 40 meters in length, vividly portraying the intense and transformative events of the time.
Through ultra-high-resolution digital imaging, countless historical moments captured in the scrolls are brought into sharp focus.
With the addition of digital coloring using the latest technology, the once-static images are given new life, allowing the scenes to emerge with remarkable immediacy.
Guided by the dynamic and engaging narration of a kōdan storyteller, this program weaves together spoken storytelling and projected imagery to create an unprecedented historical experience, one that bridges traditional narrative art and cutting-edge digital technology.
Past Related Events
Related Events Specially Held Concurrently
at the Creative Activity Room of the Kuretake Cultural Center
Rōkyoku (Narrative Singing)
Kesa and Moritō
- The Story in English
The narrative, originally found in the Genpei Seisuiki (a historical epic), is a psychological tale of obsessive love, honor, and sacrifice.
Morito is a samurai who becomes infatuated with Kesa, a beautiful, married noblewoman.
Driven by his desire, Morito agrees to kill Kesa’s husband at her request, but Kesa has a different plan to preserve her husband’s honor and dignity.
Akutagawa’s version is told through internal monologues, revealing the conflicting and complex emotions of both characters.
he story has been compared to Shakespearean tragedies like Macbeth and explores themes of guilt, fear, and desire. - The story takes place at Koizukadera Temple in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto.
After accidentally killing Kesa, Moritō renounced the world and became a monk, and later founded this temple at the place where she was buried.
The name “Koizuka” literally means “Love Mound,” reflecting the tragic love at the heart of the story.
Rakugo (Comic Storytelling)
Sanjikkoku（Thirty-Koku Boats）: Yume no Kayoi-ji（A Dreamlike Journey Back and Forth）
- About Sanjikkoku: Yume no Kayoi-ji（Thirty-koku Boats: A Dreamlike Jouney Back and Forth)
This story is the final episode of The Eastern Journey (Higashi no Tabi), a well-known series in Kamigata rakugo.
It depicts the last leg of the famous Ise pilgrimage, portraying the return journey from Kyoto to Osaka.
The plot itself is lighthearted, focusing on everyday incidents that occur during a boat journey.
The story follows two main characters as they travel back from Kyoto, heading down the Fushimi route, boarding a night boat at Teradaya’s landing in Fushimi, and making their way home to Osaka.
In the first half, the narrative vividly depicts scenes at the inn, the lively atmosphere as the boat departs, and the humorous fantasies of a flirtatious man who mistakenly believes that a beautiful woman will be among the passengers. - The Origins of the Sanjikkoku-bune (Thirty-Koku Boats)
Fushimi began to gain prominence in Japanese history under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who developed the area as a castle town and established it as the key departure point for river transport along the Yodo River, connecting Kyoto and Osaka.
In the early Edo period, as society stabilized, a passenger-only riverboat service known as the Sanjikkoku-bune emerged to serve as transportation between Fushimi and Osaka.
The name derives from the boat’s cargo capacity—thirty koku of rice—and the boats were also known as kasho-bune, or officially authorized vessels.
Each boat measured approximately 56 shaku (about 17 meters) in length and 8 shaku 3 sun (about 2.5 meters) in width, with a passenger capacity of 28 to 30 people.
Initially, each boat was operated by four boatmen, but by the late Edo period, faster versions known as hayabune sanjikkoku-bune appeared, requiring five to six boatmen and significantly reducing travel time in both directions.
Departures from Fushimi’s river landings—such as Hiradobashi, Horaibashi, Kyobashi, and Awabashi—typically took place at night, with boats arriving in Osaka early the following morning.
The Sanjikkoku-bune functioned as a high-speed transport system connecting Kyoto and Osaka, a distance of approximately 44.8 kilometers.
Nicknamed the “Shinkansen of the Edo period,” as many as 162 boats operated at peak times.
With up to 320 trips per day (including both upstream and downstream journeys), it is said that as many as 9,000 people traveled daily, making it one of the most important transportation networks in Japan at the time.
Cargo unloaded at Fushimi Port was then transported into Kyoto by Takase-bune, flat-bottomed boats that traveled along the Takase River.
This artificial canal, completed in 1614 by Suminokura Ryōi, connected Fushimi with central Kyoto by drawing water from the Kamo River.
At its peak, as many as 170 boats traveled the canal each day. - Present-day Tourist Boat Pier for the Jikkoku-bune (Ten-Koku Boats)