A quiet place where you can forget about the hustle and bustle of the city, along a deep alley about 5 minutes on foot from the intersection of Omotesando. The building where the candy entangles in the milky white wall that appears in such a place is "MY SENCHA SALON" where a lesson of sencha is performed on the table. This time, Michiho Iga, who presides over “MY SENCHA SALON”, interviewed. Iga's father is the home of Sencha. In the Sencha way where young people feel the height of the threshold, what kind of woman is Iga san who presides a popular salon for women in their 20s and 40s, how to reach table Sencha, from now on I have heard such a story about what she wants to do.

Interviewee Profile
Michiho Iga / MY SENCHA SALON
As a daughter of the third generation of Sankitei Baisa School of Sencha Tea Ceremony Foundation, she has been familiar with Sencha-do from an early age. She graduated from Tokyo Women's University in 2007.
Currently, she is active mainly in Tokyo and Hiroshima as promoting a Sansutei tea ceremony. In the spring of 2016, the salon “MY SENCHA SALON OMOTESANDO” was opened to introduce the points of the Sencha ceremony at Table. I preside over private lessons. In addition, we are developing Japanese sweets and collaborative lessons with a kimono salon, producing original teaware “MY CHAKI”, and catering service “Catering Sencha by Sanki” where you can enjoy Japanese sweets and sencha in a buffet.
The school is striving to disseminate the world-famous “culture of reception” based on the “sencha ceremony that anyone can do anytime, anywhere” that is important to the school.

Around 1890 a young man started on a trip throughout the country to become the man of letters. At the end of is long journey finally he found the words of Baisa-O by chance, and sympathized with "The words of Baisa-O". I wonder he knew or not that Baisa-O also had hard-traveled in his young days. It is said a man might understand the world through his own experience. Since then he improved the way of Sencha tea ceremony that he had followed the example of his father, and started to spread it as Baisa-Ryu.As the truth that he gained by his efforts－for his first step following his father's and grand father's.
For 100 years, there are so many helps －various tea ceremony parties or enthusiastic flower exhibitions－ of people who sympathized his idea until we were authorized as a foundation. Because of their cooperation we shared joy and pleasure, respected ,and all united. "After completion, Sench tea ceremony would be organizes as a form of arts. But the most important thing is not the system as result but our life－whether we can live our lives truly by making use of Sencha tea ceremony or not. I think the process to try it is important."
This is the speech when I succeeded to the Master and I have advocated since then. For 20 years the head and branch offices have kept studying to reach for the spirit of Sencha tea ceremony by constant and steady practices. There must be some difficulties, but we are contented with joy and believe that dreams come true.

 - What do you usually do at MY SENCHA SALON, where you are presided over?

Every day, Sencha lessons are held for individuals. The students are mainly women in their 20s and 40s, and everyone visits my social network. Recently, the number of collaboration projects with companies has increased, including participation in JICA training programs. Each lesson is mainly about space decoration, such as how to decorate Japanese sweets, bowls and flowers according to the season, students' preferences and the atmosphere of the students. This is basically done in this place, but sometimes it is done on a business trip. My school has the image of incorporating it into everyday life. It's not like a bride training or manner. The most important thing is to enjoy the space itself, so you have to work on decorations that vary depending on the person and the situation.

(JICA's training program)

 - What do students think about taking lessons under Iga?

People who want to try a tea ceremony but think it seems difficult are often attracted to the concept of Sencha to enjoy at the table. There seems to be many people who think that the tea ceremony on the tatami mats is difficult to reach because of the high threshold. It seems that you can think. I want to be able to do more easily! It ’s a lesson that I started thinking about, so I ’m so happy to be there.


 - Born to your Iemoto of the school, how did you started the tea?
​
I learned from my maternal grandmother, not from my father. Many of the tools I have now have been inherited from my grandmother. Is it first when you were in elementary school? I helped the teachers at the New Year's tea party. I really wish I could have continued, but my grandmother was very strict. So at that time, I couldn't feel much fun in Sencha. I was born in Hiroshima, but junior high school entered a dormitory at a school in Fukuoka, so I no longer practice from junior high school. I was angry by my grandmother every time I returned to my parents' home. Even if you practice after a long time, you forget it.

 - So, from the time you got confused, did you decide to work in tea in the future?

In fact, Sencha-do was not an option. My father was my father, but I wasn't the owner of the idea that I had to succeed, and my sister and brother weren't told anything. My mother is a jewelry designer and I was born in a free family, so I wanted to find a job at a general company after I graduated from university. In the middle and high school era, I was really admired overseas and allowed me to study abroad, and at university I majored in the Department of Languages ​​and Cultures to learn about the mechanisms of English and Japanese languages ​​and their relationship with society. Actually, when I was a student, I was reluctant to tell that the family business was a school of Sencha. Isn't it easy to explain to friends? I thought it would be difficult to understand correctly even if I talked at home. At that time, you do n’t want to be different from everyone, you don’t like things that change, or you do n’t want to get that much attention. I feel that it was a relatively modest character. For that reason, when I was in college, I didn't use Sencha, and I thought I had spent my part-time job exclusively. I was still a student, such as a dental assistant, a company that dispatched private tutors, and a telecommunications company, but it was fun and fun to work. In fact, if you want to work happily after graduation, it may be natural for you to go on to a job at a company.

 - How did you return to the Sencha world after graduating from university?
 
At first, I joined a major cosmetics company and worked as a lecturer for about two and a half years to teach sales staff whenever new products came out. After that, I moved to a government-related company and worked for about four and a half years. My turning point was during the Great East Japan Earthquake. At that time, I was contacted to come back from my parents' home in Hiroshima and returned to Hiroshima. Just when my father's secretary quit, he came home and helped him with his work. It was just right for me, so I decided to quit the company and return to Hiroshima. That is the timing of returning to the Sencha world. There may be few now, but I think there are people who have a negative image of changing jobs. However, because I was able to experience various jobs, I was better suited to work at my own discretion, and I felt that it was overwhelmingly fun.

 - Then you started to help your father's work? 

That's correct. At first it was clerical work, but my experience in financial work, such as accounting and interaction with external institutions, was helpful. After that, I supported my family and prepared for a tea party.


 - After that, you moved to Tokyo and opened your own salon. What was it like?

When I was in Hiroshima, there was a time when I was studying about Sencha-do. Then I realized that no matter where I looked, it wasn't publicized much. If no one was doing it, I started to do it first, and people who helped appeared more and more. I have also been active in myself, and since then I have come to be blessed with nature and timing and relationships and connections with various people. A friend who worked for a PR company at that time invited me to take a sencha experience at a children's event, and challenged me, my brother, and the teachers of the Kanto branch. The children enjoyed the tea ceremony innocently and the parents who watched it enjoyed it. The event triggered me to get voices from various places. It's a lot of fun to convey the charm of Sencha from various viewpoints in a way that no one has yet done.

 - What kind of things do you want to challenge in order to deliver the appeal of Sencha to various people, mainly women in their 20s and 40s who are attending “MY SENCHA SALON” in the future?
 
I think that future learning will not end with just learning. Even was not the person's business, that it is I think that defect so that we create even a little a place to be active even a little, actively or open a tea party of the student organizers, now I together I would like to make more and more places where my students can show off , such as leaving my students to my students . I would like to create more places for such lessons of Sencha.

Interviewer: Yuki Kitamura, Kaoru Kuribayashi Stanislaus
Place: MY SENCHA SALON OMOTESANDO
      https://www.my-sencha-salon.com/

“I'm going to go to Takachiho in Miyazaki from tomorrow. It's a place that is said to have the origins of Japanese music,”
says Ryochu, who was interviewed this time. Born as the son of Itchu Miyako, 12th generation of Itchu-bushi (Shamisen: three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument), he is now on various stages both in Japan and abroad as a joruri (a narrative singer of the traditional Japanese puppet theatre).
This time, we asked Ryochu about new challenges that he would like to pursue in the future and the “essence” that he thought about now.

Interviewee Profile
Ryochu Miyako Itchu-bushi, Joruri
Since the early days of his life, he began to practice Japanese traditional music, Itchu-bushi, for his father, and his predecessor, Tokyo. Regularly organizes his own concert “Meeting in Tokyo”. Served as a purifier for concerts and dance performances, and appeared in many performances overseas (Berlin, New York, St. Petersburg, Shanghai, etc.). In addition to performance activities, lectures, radio appearances, Joruri instruction, etc. Participated as a song in the image album (CD) of the Studio Ghibli movie “Spirited Away”
* “Jorurikata” refers to Tayu who tells the story along with the shamisen.

Ichinakabushi is said to be particularly elaborate and elegant music among shamisen music, and has been handed down for over 300 years since the Edo period. The number of sounds is small, and the knots and shamisen are not soft, so it may seem natural when you listen to them for the first time, but there is a depth in each sound, the fineness, the sound and the sound The quietness between them is a unique attraction. In the Edo period, everyone listened and practiced, and the world was popular, and it was loved and enjoyed by the upper class of townspeople.

 - What are you currently spending on your daily activities, such as performances at home and abroad and training for your disciples?
 
I'm doing three things now - Getting on the stage, Practicing, and Teaching.
 
Of course, the time for the stage and apprentices to be rehearsed is fixed, but not every day. In some cases, I do it all day, or 2-3 hours a day.


 - Is there anything you have to keep in mind when managing the three times?

First of all, I will practice for the closest stage, but to tell the truth, I always think that it is on the stage somewhere unfinished. Of course I'm going to do as much as I can, but it's still somewhere. It may be in any world, but I don't think it will be completed no matter how much you do. That's why, always thought is that it is not also done new things. I think that I have to study in my daily life, other than the songs that I have to do on the stage. The accumulation of new things fills the remaining few percent until completion. However, it is very difficult to keep doing new things that are not directly related to the stage in front of you.

 - I heard that it has been about 30 years since I started the middle section, but how did you finish it?
 
Since my father was a shamisen player from the time I was born, I had been practicing since the age of three. It was already everyday when I was confident.
When I was in kindergarten or elementary school, I loved singing anime, and I was a kid who was singing on my way home from school or riding a bicycle. I remember singing all the songs that each character sings, such as “Dragon Ball” or “Ranma 1/2”.
When I was a child, the middle passage was an extension of my favorite song.

I still remember it, but I was very regretted as a person who loves songs. Anime songs can be easily uttered from the mouth, but I feel sorry that I couldn't do the middle verse at all, and I wanted to be able to do it.
 
 
 - I don't think there are many people studying around Joruri, but what did you think of when you were a student?
 
My father said, “Be free.” “If you have a favorite job, you can go there.” "If you don't like it, it's rather rude to the middle."
Only high school students actually decided the way. I started to learn about the contents and details of the song, and I thought that I would like to enjoy the whole life, “I might enjoy it for the rest of my life” and “I want to do my best for the rest of my life”.

I think it was very early, but when I was 17 years old, I got the name “Ryochu Totsu” and began to appear on stage as a professional “Junchu Ichijo”.
 

 - Making a decision when you were a high school student was a big thing, but what was the reason you wanted to do your best?
 
At that time, I had a trip to America with my father. It was my father's vacation trip, but during that period, a Japanese who I knew in the United States called me home and held a small concert like a salon party. I remember that there were about 30 local Americans and Japanese people. After interpreting the commentary in English, my father played and spoke at that time, and I was just listening to the side.

After the performance, all the people who were listening were impressed by the fact that they were approaching the father, and some people expressed their excitement and asked for a handshake. I was watching it very close and I felt very happy that I was practicing every day and that the music I faced was something that could make people so happy. At that time, I was really moved by touching various wonderful arts such as musicals and orchestras.

However, I felt proud at that time, even though the middle passage was not as close to what I had seen. Those experiences gave me a great opportunity to think that I want to do my best.

​
 - My image of your father Itchu is playing the shamisen, but the image of you are narrating.

I think there was a way for me to play the shamisen. I've always loved to speak, so it was a natural flow. Basically, it will be either full-time at talks in shamisen. Of course, in order to talk about Joruri, I also learn the shamisen, and when I teach my disciple or play at a very small meeting, I'm dedicated to the stage.
 
Some people do it with both wheels, but that is quite unusual. First of all, the balance approaches one, and both are extremely steep. For example, it feels like Nippon Ham's Otani (a baseball player). There are few people who can both throw / hit in baseball and stop by either, but Otani can do both. Such a person is rare in any world.

 - Why has it been continued from childhood until now?
 
There are two reasons for continuing with the premise of “love”. “Frustration” and “happiness”. The more you get older, the more these two are stacked.
 

 - When do you think you're regrettable?
 
First, “regret”. In the first place, it's all that you can't really do, and there are so many things you can't even imagine, and you can't do it again and again, but I keep trying to get closer to that complete form.
I was able to do what I wanted to be able to do before, but at that time the ideal that I wanted to do was higher. The goal / ideal is getting higher and higher. It ’s not close at all. That's why I want to do more. I want to pursue it.
 

 - So when do you feel “joy”?
 
Thankfully there are people who say `` Please perform in my local area '' and there are people who say `` I listen to the CD every day '', I do not have to listen every day, I think it is better to listen to other things I'll do it. Thank you very much. Shamisen music While there are many, Itchubushi is a very quiet, while there are many, but the silence I think the sometimes feel difficult in music to cherish, and who have heard everyone seriously hard. I am very happy that you said, “It was music I had never heard before” or “Please tell me when you have a chance to perform again”. This is one of the reasons that I continue to Itchu-bushi.

 - How is the reaction overseas?
 
Until now, I have often accompanied my father in New York, Boston, St. Petersburg, Shanghai, Cologne, Berlin, etc., but I have had the opportunity to appear in performances in various places.
Of course, not everyone receives the same way, but what impressed me was Berlin in 2014.

Although it was a performance at the German-Japanese Center in Berlin, I think that there were many people who were interested in Japanese culture, but the standing ovation was "very comfortable" and "the unique silence was wonderful" In addition to the impressions about the music, there were things that were common in Japanese culture, not just shamisen music, such as “the work was beautiful” and “I want to imitate the appearance”.

I often hear people around me perform overseas, and I hope it will increase as 2020 approaches.


 - What do you think about what should be communicated to overseas countries in various ways?
 
I want to deliver the performances that I do every day straight.
Recently, new things such as collaborating with something overseas and changing the original song into another or being imported. I think it's really important to keep trying new things, and I think there are situations where it's necessary.

However, I would like to tell the overseas audience who is listening to music for the first time as it is. This is because I want you to feel the original charm of the middle verse and the essence of the pure middle verse. It is a challenge to continue to refine yourself so that there are important elements in the connection of our predecessors over a long period of time.

For example, I don't want to change the song itself, even if I make an elaboration in the space, such as the location and lighting. I wonder if it would be boring if I listened to it and listened. The kindness of the other person is necessary for understanding, but there is also a risk that important parts will not be transmitted if you match it too much. However, even if you listen to it without any prior explanation, it will be difficult even for Japanese people today, and there is a Japanese language barrier especially for overseas people.

What I would like to play overseas so far is to comment on the song and to display the translation of the lyrics in real time during the performance, which has this meaning and this history After listening to the background of the story and the contents of the story, the impression that customers were able to enter the song world naturally was pleased.
 

 - What do you think is the “essence” of the Itchu-bushi?
 
For example, when you are talking about spring in a song, you can feel the spring air with the inflection of the Joruri clause and the sound of the shamisen. You can also feel joy when you are happy with the characters and sadness when you are sad. I think that it is essential to be able to share with people who listen to the scenery and feelings of the song through Joruri and Shamisen.
I would be happy if you could relive the beauty of Japanese sensibilities at that time.

I am convinced that the essence should be transmitted regardless of country, since I was in high school when I wanted to do my best in America. It is a theme that we must continue to think about, "to create better performances and ways to convey while continuing to pursue the value of itself," and "what will change and what will not change."

Interviewer: Yuki Kitamura, Kaoru Kuribayashi Stanislaus
Photo: Atsushi Sakamoto
Place: National Noh Theater

Recently, I try to connect with various people. I want to know more about the outside world. If you meet and talk, you know the existence of this world and that it will be wonderful, but you don't know the contents at all, you want to know. Some people give me.
The opinions from those people are very fresh. We have a way of thinking and ideas that are not understood by the human beings inside.

Every time, I think that there must be nothing to say. Even if the way you communicate is different, the way you feel is different depending on the person. Otherwise, the world of dance will disappear.

However, it is very difficult for people who don't know anything to know. Then, from the beginning, I would like to deliver this world to those who like it and those who have a little interest. Even if you like or are interested, the contents are too small to know. But first, if you know more about your favorite people, I think it will become a better world. I want to realize this by the age of 30.

In fact, there are many dances and songs that you can love if you know them.
For example, Dojoji. From the dancer's perspective, this is a program that everyone really admires. This is a story based on the legend of the Dojoji legend, but to put it simply, there is a monk who is unilaterally in love with a woman. But the monks don't like the woman in particular. It ’s chased like a stalker and runs away. Therefore, when she escapes to a temple called Dojoji, the woman keeps on fighting, as if she was dressed as a white cat child (dancer) so that she wouldn't go away.
Eventually, the monks escaped into the temple bells, and the woman turned into a snake, wrapped around the bells, burned the bells themselves, and killed the monks. It ’s a story.
Isn't this content that is quite a movie or drama now? What's more, in this performance, dojoji is performed in various versions. For example, Kirishidan Dojoji. This is what Kirishitan will perform as if it were a story.

Every dance has meaning, and it is related to various things. There are many ways to enjoy it, and I want it to be something that you see and do in everyday life, not in a world with a high threshold. Of course, it's not just about dancing. I think this is true for the entire Japanese culture.

You can think it's boring, boring, don't get hard, and don't try to correct your thoughts. If you listen to the explanation and find it interesting, you can find it interesting. I want you to do it if you are interested, and you don't have to be interested.
If you think it's interesting or like it, let me know if you're interested. I would like to talk to many people from different worlds and create and spread new dances.

[Nakamura-style Japanese dance] 

A style inspired by the third generation Nakamura Shikan, a kabuki actor who was active during the Bunka and Bunsei periods.
The feature is that the actors of Kabuki's Narikomaya have inherited the original family from generation to generation, and the emphasis is placed on the main line of Kabuki-sho. Since 2012, the second daughter of the first generation, Nakamura Umebuchi, has succeeded the family. Fukusuke Nakamura, the 9th generation, and Sosuke Nakamurahashi, the 3rd generation (as of October 2016)
September 16th (Friday) 23:00-NHK E-TV “Nippon's Performing Arts” Ume Nakamura will perform at “Takekurabe”.
In October and November at Kabukiza, the third generation Nakamura Hashinosuke was changed to the eighth generation Nakamura Shiba, Nakamura Kuniyo changed the fourth generation Nakamura Hashisuke, Nakamura Muneo changed the third generation Nakamura Fukunosuke, and Nakamura Yuki changed the fourth generation Nakamura Utasuke to the first name. The group will perform an attack on 4 people at the same time.
http://www.nakamuraryu.jp/

“Aiming to create a new dance world on a new path different from that of my mother.” Ume-san's goal was a little surprising.
Although it is still the first time, we will continue to interview various people in their 20s and 30s who will inherit the wave of tradition and lead the next generation of Japan. It was a story I felt strongly that I would like to create a Japanese culture that will continue into the future by working together in the interviews.

Interview: Kuribayashi Stanis Roth, Kitamura Yuki
Photo: Tsuchiya Fumino
Place: Nakamura Ryu
Okoba (Kagurazaka) Sweets: Umekatei (Kagurazaka)