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 (tea ceremony using leaf Sencha tea rather than powdered Matcha tea) is performed on the table. We interviewed Michiho IGA san, who is the organizer of the “MY SENCHA SALON”. Her father is the master (Iemoto) of Sencha. In our interview, we reveal what is the secret of Iga san who attracts women in their 20s to 40s in the world of Sencha, which young people tend to feel difficult to approach. 

Interviewee Profile
Michiho IGA / MY SENCHA SALON
As a daughter of Senyu SHIMAMURA, the third generation of Sankitei Baisa School of Sencha Tea Ceremony Foundation, she has been familiar with Sencha-do (The art of Sencha ceremony) from an early age. She graduated from The Women's Christian University in 2007.
Currently, she is active mainly in Tokyo and Hiroshima as a PR of Sankitei Baisa School. In the spring of 2016, she opened “MY SENCHA SALON OMOTESANDO”  to introduce Sencha ceremony in more casual way. She collaborates with Japanese sweets and kimono salons to introduce lessons, produces original tea-wares “MY CHAKI”, and provides Japanese sweets and Sencha catering service “Catering Sencha by Sanki”.
She promotes the "culture of hospitality" with the Sankitei Baisa school's motto “Sencha ceremony that anyone can do anytime, anywhere".

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?

I provide private Sencha lessons everyday. The students are mainly women in their 20s and 40s, most of whom got to know my salon through my SNS. Recently, there are increasing numbers of collaboration events such as 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 aura of each student. This salon is the main venue but sometimes I visit some other places as well. Our school keeps it in mind that the Sencha practice is incorporated into everyday life, not as a bride training or manner. The most important thing is to enjoy the space itself, so it is essential to  work on decorations that vary depending on the person and the situation.

(JICA's training program)

 - What are students' takeaways?

I found that most people who want to try Tea ceremony but find it a bit difficult to approach are attracted to the concept of enjoying Sencha on table (Traditionally Sencha ceremony is held on the floor). There seems to be many people who think that the tea ceremony on the tatami mat requires a lot of effort to try out. I opened this salon to let people try Sencha more casually, so I am glad to know that people are feeling comfortable here.


 - Being born in the family of Iemoto (master), how did you start Sencha? 
​
I learned Sencha practice from my maternal grandmother, instead of my father. Many of the tools I have now have been inherited from her. I think I was in the elementary school  that I helped 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 I entered a boarding school in Fukuoka, so I stopped taking lessons. My grandmother was not happy that I always used to forget many things every time I returned to my parents' home. 

 - Did you know you would pursue the career in the field of tea?

In fact, Sencha-do was not an option in the first place. My father is the master of the school, but he did not think that it is me and my brother's obligation to inherit it. My mother is a jewellery designer and my parents are open-minded, so I wanted to find a job at a general company after I graduating from university. I always wanted to go overseas so my parents let me go to study abroad when I was junior high school and high school student, and I majored in Languages ​​and Cultures to learn about the mechanisms of English and Japanese languages ​​and their relationship with society at university. Actually, when I was a student, I was reluctant to tell that the family business was a school of Sencha. Isn't it complicated to explain the concept to friends? I thought it would be difficult for them to understand even if I tell them that my father is the master of the school. At that time, I did not want to be different from everyone, I did not like things that seem unique, or I did not want to get that much attention.
For that reason, when I was in college, I would spend most of my spare time for part-time job. Although I was still a student,  I absolutely enjoyed working as a dental assistant, a sales person at a private tutors agent companies, and a back office staff at a telecommunication 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 when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred. My parents contacted me to come back to Hiroshima. It was when my father's secretary quit, so he wanted me to support the school's business. It was a right timing for me, so I decided to quit the company and returned to Hiroshima, and went back to the Sencha world. There may be fewer now, but I think there are still many people who have a negative image toward changing jobs. However, because I was able to experience various jobs, I found myself enjoying having an ownership in work.

 - 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 the master and prepared for a tea parties.


 - After that, you moved to Tokyo and opened your own salon. How did that happen?

When I was in Hiroshima, I researched a lot about Sencha-do. Then I realised that no matter where I looked, information about Sencha-do was not publicised much. Then I thought, if no one was doing it I should do it. And more and more people appeared to help me out. I also became proactive myself, since then I came to be blessed with good timing and relationships and connections with various people. One time, a friend of mine who worked for a PR company at that time invited me to organise a Sencha lesson at a kids' event. I decided to try it out with my brother and teachers of the Kanto (area around Tokyo) branch. Kids enjoyed the tea ceremony innocently and the parents who watched it were happy too. 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 are your challenges in the future in order to share the charm of Sencha to various people including women in their 20s and 40s who are attending “MY SENCHA SALON”?
 
I think that hobby will not end with just hobby in the future. Even if it was not someone's job, I will need to open up opportunities where they can be in the centre, such as tea parties or events where students lead. I would like to create more places for such lessons of Sencha.


 - Thank you very much.

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

“I'm going to Takachiho in Miyazaki from tomorrow. It's a place that is said to have the origins of Japanese music.” says Ryochu Miyako. He was 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-kata (a narrative singer of the traditional Japanese puppet theatre).
In this interview, we asked Ryochu about new challenges that he would like to pursue in the future and what he thinks what the “essence” is.

Interviewee Profile
Ryochu MIYAKO / Itchu-bushi, Joruri
Since the early days of his life, he began to practice Japanese traditional music, Itchu-bushi, from his father, and his predecessor, both Itchu MIYAKO. He regularly organises his own concert “Miyako Ryochu no kai”. He served as a Joruri-kata for concerts and dance performances, and appeared in many performances overseas (Berlin, New York, St. Petersburg, Shanghai, etc.). In addition to performance activities, he is also lecturer, guest at radio station, and Joruri instructor, etc. He also participated as a singer in the image album (CD) of the Studio Ghibli film “Spirited Away”

Itchu bushi is known as particularly elaborate and elegant music among shamisen music, and has been handed down for over 300 years since the Edo period. The number of notes are few, and the tones and knots and shamisen are soft and gentle, so that it may seem plain when you listen to them for the first time. However, each sound has its depth, and the fineness and quietness between each note is its unique attraction. During the Edo period, it was so popular that everyone listened and practiced, and it was loved and enjoyed by the upper class of trademan and craftsman.

 - How do you manage your time?
 
I'm mainly spending time on three things now - Getting on the stage, Practicing, and Teaching.
 
Some of schedules such as lessons with students are fixed, but others are quite flexible. It is very difficult to secure time for my own lessons. Sometimes I spend a whole day practicing, and another time I only have 2 to 3 hours.


 - Is there anything you have to keep in mind when managing your three tasks?

First of all, I will aim for the closest stage, but to be honest, I always feel like i is always unfinished when I am on the stage. Of course I am doing everything I can, but there is always something that is not still perfect. It may be the case in any field, but I don't think it will ever be completed no matter how much I do.
Therefore, I need to try something new all the time. It is necessary to learn music pieces that I will not be playing at the next stage. The accumulation of new things fills the remaining few percents toward the completion. Although, it is very challenging to keep doing new things that are not directly related to the stage in front of me.

 - I heard that it has been about 30 years since you started Itchu bushi. but how did you start?
 
My father has always been the Shamisen player ever since I was born, I had been practicing since the age of three. It had already been the daily routine before I realised.
When I was a kid, I loved singing anime, and I always used to sing on my way home from school or when I am 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, Itchu bushi was an extension of my favourite singing activity.

I still remember that it was frustrating that Itchu bushi was so difficult that I could not do it as well as I can do in anime song.
 
 
 - I don't think there were many people studying Joruri around you, but what did you think of it when you were a student?
 
My father always used to tell me, “Do as you like.” “If you have a favourite job, you can choose that.” "If you don't like it, it's rather rude to Itchu bushi."
It was when I was a high school student that I actually decided which way to pursue. I started to learn about the contents and details of the song, and I realised it is somethign that I would enjoy the rest of my life.
Although I was still young when I made this decision, I was 17 years old when I was given the name “Ryochu MIYAKO” and began to appear on stage as a professional “Itchu bushi Joruri kata”.
 

 - Making a decision when you were a high school student was a big thing, but what was the reason you were determined that you want to do it for the rest of your life?
 
Around the same time, I had a chance to travel to the United States with my father. It was my father's vacation trip, but a Japanese friend invited us to their home to organise a small music 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 sang, and I was just listening by his side.

After the performance, all the guests seemed very moved and came up to my father. Some people expressed their excitement and asked for a handshake. I was watching the whole scenes and felt very happy that the music I am practicing every day could make people so happy. During the trip, I went to see musicals and orchestra concerts and I was very moved by those. However at the same time, I felt proud that Itchu bushi is equally amazing. 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 could choose to be the Shamisen player, but I chose the Joruri kata pathway. I always enjoyed to use my voice, so it was a natural flow for me. Basically, it will be either full-time narrator or Shamisen player. Although, I also learned the Shamisen in order to narrate Joruri, and I play Shamisen when I teach my students or play at a very small concert,  I focus on the narrating when I am on the stage.
 
Some people do both, but that is quite unusual. First of all, it is hard to keep the balance and keep up the level at the same time. 

 - Why do you think you could continue Itchu bushi since your childhood?
 
There are two reasons that I am continuing - that are “Frustration” and “happiness”. The more I get older, the more I get those feelings.
 

 - When do you feel the frustration?
 
There are so many things that I cannot do. Even if you can imagine, there are a lot that I cannot reach no matter how I try. But that is why I keep on trying to get closer to the completion.
Although I am able to do something I could not do in the past, my ideal level goes higher. The goals and ideals are always above me. It never gets closer 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 always feel afraid that they do not have to listen to mine everyday and they should listen to something else too, but I feel so thankful.

Shamisen music form varies, and Itchu bushi is a very quiet and there are a lot of silence between notes. It must be difficult to get the idea that it appreciates the quietness, but people listen to it patiently. I am very happy when people tell me "It was a kind of music that 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 Itchu bushi.

 - How is the reaction overseas?
 
Until now, I have had the opportunity to appear in performances in various places such as New York, Boston, St. Petersburg, Shanghai, Cologne, Berlin, etc., most of which is accompanied by my father.
Of course it is not the same reaction everywhere I go, but amongst all what impressed me was in Berlin in 2014.

It was held at the German-Japanese Centre in Berlin so I suppose there were many people who were interested in Japanese culture. But what amazed me that not only standing ovation, comments such as "very comfortable" and "the unique silence was wonderful", but also "the work was beautiful" and "I want to imitate the appearance", which relates to the concept of Japanese culture as a whole.

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


 - What are the things that you want to tell to people?
 
I want to deliver the performances that I do every day without faking it.
Recently, I hear a lot of new projects such as collaborating with something outside of Japan, or arranging the original song into another. It is very important to keep trying new things, and there are situations where it's necessary.

However, I would like to show what I am doing on a daily basis to the overseas audience who listen to music for the first time. This is because I want them to feel the original charm and the essence of the pure Itchu bushi. It is a challenge to continue to refine myself 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. It is fine even if it would be boring to the audience. The kindness for people to be understood is necessary, but there is also a risk that important parts will not be transmitted if you care too much about others.

Still, it will be difficult even for Japanese people today listening to Itchu bushi and understanding it without any prior explanation. Especially there is a language barrier to overseas audiences.
What I learned so far through my experiences is that it is quite useful to show the meaning of the music and what lyrics mean alongside the performance real time. Also audiences could naturally enter into the world of music and were pleased when I told the background story and the history of the content before I started playing.
 

 - What do you think is the “essence” of the Itchu-bushi?
 
For example, when audiences could feel the spring air through the Joruri clause and the sound of the shamisen when I am narrating about the spring. Or when audiences could feel if the characters in the stories are happy or sad through Joruri and Shamisen. I think it is the essence of Itchu bushi that I can share the scenery and emotions with audiences via Joruri and Shamisen.
I would be happy if people could experience the beauty of Japanese sensibilities.

I am convinced that the essence can be told regardless of country, since I was in high school when I decided that I wanted to do it for the rest of my life. It is a theme that we must continue to think about, "How 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. When I meet and talk, they tell me that they want to know more about it as I do not know anything about it although they have a wonderful image about it. 
Those opinions are so fresh for us being inside of the certain world and appeal to me that the way of receiving the dancing is so different. 

Every time I talk to people, I always think that there is no single answer that it has to be told in certain way. Even if the way I communicate is different, the way people feel is different to each other. Otherwise, the world of dance will disappear.

Actually, it is very difficult for us to reach out to people who do not know anything about dancing and attract them to see the show. Then, why not approach to those who are familiar with art and performances. Even if someone likes or is interested in certain field, it requires a bit of effort to know the details. My mission before I become 30 is to communicate more with those who already have a potential to be interested in this world.

In fact, there are many dance and music pieces that I am sure people would love once they know them.
One good example is "Dojoji". As a dancer, everyone wants to perform the piece. The story is based on the what is called the legend of Dojoji. Very simply speaking, there are a monk and a woman. She loves him so much but he does not. He tries to run away from her and escapes into the temple called Dojoji. But she still enters pretending as if she is a dancer. Eventually, the monk escaped into the temple bell, and the woman turned into a snake, wrapped around the bells, burned the bell and killed the monk.
Isn't this content that is quite a movie or drama now? What's more, in this performance, Dojoji is performed in various versions such as Kirishidan Dojoji. 

Every dance performance has its own 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, if you think so. Don't try to be too serious. If you find the explanation interesting I would love you to watch the show, but it is ok if you do not find it appealing. I do not think this is something that you have to try hard to be interested in. If you think it's interesting or find it enjoyable, please let me talk to you. I would love to talk to many people from different worlds and create and spread new dances.

[Nakamura-style Japanese dance] 

A style originated in the third generation Shikan NAKAMURA, a kabuki actor who was famous 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 mainstream of Kabuki performances. Since 2012, the second daughter of the first generation, Umeya NAKAMURA, has succeeded the family. Fukusuke NAKAMURA, the 9th generation, as the head of the school and Hashinosuke NAKAMURA, the 3rd generation (Shikan NAKAMURA, the 8th generation as of October 2016), as an advisor.

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)