Paper short abstract:

What does the extinction of a folk performing art which has been nurtured by a local community suggest to its local residents and beyond? Has its need died out, or is it being fulfilled by a substitute? This paper explores how those performing arts can be passed on to future generations.

Paper long abstract:

What does the extinction of a folk performing art, which has been nurtured by a local community, suggest to its local residents and beyond? Has the need for such performances died out, or is it being fulfilled by a substitute? Trials to revive folk arts closely connected to indigenous life can be seen not only in performing arts, but also in other art forms, both tangible and intangible, such as dance, theatre, architecture, etc., in and outside of Japan. These trials to rejuvenate old or extinct art forms may have some latent potential, and also may reveal a global desire to connect to a one’s own past. Unleashed from its former purpose and geographic milieu, can such an art form find new purpose and new relevance in this age?

This paper explores these questions through focusing on manzai, one of the kadozuke performances. This once popular but now dying artform, may be able to be revived by transforming it into a completely new form, while still acknowledging the core essence from its extinct predecessor. One such example is Yokote-manzai, a classical celebratory narrative performing art that died out towards the end of the 20th century. Before its complete extinction, Shibata Minao (1916-1996), a composer, musicologist, and music critic, found interest in it, and based on the actual performance of the last inheritor of this narrative art, created a communal theater piece called “Manzai-nagashi”. Through this creation, the forgotten and extinct world of Yokote-manzai has been scored and theatricalized, and periodically breathes new life. Another new art form, “Heisei Akita Manzai” (New generation-heisei-era akita manzai) comes from the musical band, Aragehongi, formed in 2007. The leader, Masafumi Saito, hopes that his pieces will convey “something like the indigenous spirit or soul” in a new way.