JAPAN – MIYABI : SPLENDOR and SERENITY: Evening of Japanese Art Evening of Japanese Art, March 8 2007, 7:30pm – Room I

 
Organized in collaboration with the Comité de la Journée Franco-Japonaise de la Femme

The first part of this evening, dedicated to Japanese art, will be devoted to a presentation of the ceremony of the donning of the jûni-hitoe: exceptional 11th century kimonos, which have to this day never been seen outside of Japan. The jûni-hitoe, court costume of the 11th century, and still in use in the Imperial Court today, was traditionally worn for official court ceremonies. The ceremony will be performed by Mrs Reiko Shoji, President of the Takakura of Imondo School (the Way of Heian Era Dressing) and Vice-President of the Kokusaibunka Technical College of Hair Design.

The second part of the evening will feature the projection of a documentary film on Noh master Hisa Uzawa. Throughout the course of its 600 year history, Noh theatre was always reserved for men only. It wasn’t until after the Second World War that, for the first time, a Japanese woman appeared on stage in a Noh play. Fifty years later, in 2004, another unprecedented event took place when the prestigious title ‘Holder of Intangible Cultural Heritage’ was attributed to female Noh actresses. Hisa Uzawa is the youngest actress to hold this prestigious title.

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