Samurai’s Bachiana (“The Tale of the Heike”)

A Special Performance at Shikoku Village Rural Kabuki Stage

Date: October 19, 2014
Location: Shikoku Village Rural Kabuki Stage (Outdoor), Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture
Supported by: Takamatsu City Cultural Arts Support Program & 80th Anniversary of Seto Inland Sea National Park

About This Special Concert

This unique performance brought together artists from Japan and the Republic of Buryatia (Russian Federation) to tell the famous Japanese story “The Tale of the Heike” in a completely new way. The concert took place on a traditional outdoor kabuki stage at Shikoku Village, making it even more special.

What Made This Performance Unique: The heart of this concert was the beautiful piano music of J.S. Bach performed by Tomona Miyazaki, which served as the main melody throughout the entire performance. As Bach’s music played, specially created illustrations by Nobuo Kiuchi were projected onto screens, creating a visual story like a picture book come to life. Mari Komaki, our storyteller, guided the audience through the tale while these beautiful images appeared and changed with the music.

The magic happened in how perfectly Bach’s music matched the spirit of this ancient samurai story. Bach’s music, with its deep emotions and powerful rhythms, captured the rise and fall of the warrior families in a way that felt completely natural.

Adding to this beautiful foundation, Namgar Lhasaranova’s mystical and divine vocals combined wonderfully with her performance on the yataga (a traditional instrument similar to the Japanese koto) and the traditional Buryat folk instruments played by Evgeny Zolotaryov on chanza and Galsan Oshorov on morin khuur, creating sounds that seemed to come from ancient times. The haunting melodies of these Buryat instruments brought an otherworldly quality to the performance.

The biwa performed by Akiko Kubota, the same type of instrument that traveling monk-storytellers used hundreds of years ago to tell this very tale, added its own special magic. Its distinctive sound connected our modern performance directly to the ancient tradition, as if the voices of those long-ago biwa priests were joining us on stage.

All these musical elements – European classical, Japanese traditional, and Buryat folk – came together to create a perfect harmony that touched everyone’s hearts.

The Performers

Piano & Producer: Tomona Miyazaki
Storyteller: Mari Komaki
Biwa (Japanese Lute): Akiko Kubota
Vocals & Yataga: Namgar Lhasaranova (Honored Artist of the Republic of Buryatia, Russian Federation)
Chanza: Evgeny Zolotaryov
Morin Khuur (Mongolian Horse-head Fiddle): Galsan Oshorov
Illustrations: Nobuo Kiuchi

The Mayor of Takamatsu and many other audience members enjoyed this wonderful performance together.

Why This Place Was So Special

The performance took place on Yashima Island, where Shikoku Village is located. This island is very important in Japanese history because it was the actual site of the famous battles described in “The Tale of the Heike.”

Long ago, two powerful families called the Taira (Heike) and the Minamoto (Genji) fought one of their most important battles right here at Yashima in 1185. This battle was crucial because it decided the fate of both families, though it wasn’t the very last battle of their war. For all the performers, playing this story at the real place where such an important part of it happened felt very meaningful and emotional.

It was like bringing the past and present together in one magical moment.

Getting Ready: Rehearsal Time. The performers practice on the beautiful old kabuki stage.

Tomona Miyazaki starts the show with beautiful piano music.

The outdoor stage feels magical in the evening light.

You can see how the audience is already drawn into the ancient story.

The historic stage behind her makes the performance feel even more real and touching.

Honored Artist Namgar Lhasaranova performs with traditional Buryat instruments, bringing the mystical sounds of Buryat folk music to the ancient Japanese tale. Her voice and the traditional instruments create a magical atmosphere.

The entire Japan-Buryatia collaboration team poses for a photo on the historic kabuki stage.

This performance was made possible through the Takamatsu City Cultural Arts Support Program and as part of the 80th Anniversary celebration of Seto Inland Sea National Park.