Daily Highlights of the Tokyo International Film Festival Day 3

USPA NEWS - An impressively international crowd turned out for the third year of the Special Night at Kabukiza Theater, the third year that TIFF has joined with Shochiku to host a special performance and classic film screening. This year marks the first time that a kabuki star will be performing an onnagata.

An impressively international crowd turned out for the third year of the Special Night at Kabukiza Theater, the third year that TIFF has joined with Shochiku to host a special performance and classic film screening. This year marks the first time that a kabuki star will be performing an onnagata (female) role, and the first time that the event will also feature a Japanese benshi narrator during the screening. Make that two benshi narrators. During a photo call and comments to the press before guests started arriving at the historic Kabukiza Theater in Higashi Ginza. Kabuki actor Onoe Kikunosuke, “Mad Chatter“ Ichiro Furutachi and professional benshi Ichiro Kataoka spoke about the program. “Sagi Musume" (Heron Maiden) combines the quintessence of all the features of onnagata dance performance,“ promised Onoe. “I had the privilege of being mentored by Tamasaburo Bando, who is the most famous interpreter of this role, and I will do my best to make him proud.“ As for the Mad Chatter, Furutachi admitted that he´s not a real benshi, and, speaking at Shinkansen speed, apologized in advance for “offending foreign journalists because I will be talking too quickly for the interpreter to keep up with me.“ OCRs TIFF