Discover the heritage and evolution of Noh and Kabuki theater, taiko drumming, the three-stringed shamisen, and more led by today’s foremost actors, musicians, and representatives of art forms that have been handed down and passionately studied for centuries.

An Evening of Traditional Japanese Arts

Friday, November 14 at 8:00 p.m.

Carnegie Hall | Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage – 57th Street and 7th Avenue

Admission: $86.50 - $226

Carnegie Hall will be the site of a very special performance: An Evening of Traditional Japaense Arts. Discover the heritage and evolution of Noh and Kabuki theater, taiko drumming, the three-stringed shamisen, and more led by today’s foremost actors, musicians, and representatives of art forms that have been handed down and passionately studied for centuries.

Performers

Hirotada Kamei – Noh Musician
Denzaemon Tanaka – Kabuki Musician
Denjiro Tanaka – Kabuki Musician
Yoshimasa Kanze – Noh Actor
Takanobu Sakaguchi – Noh Actor
Saburota Kanze – Noh Actor
Hayato Nakamura – Kabuki Actor
Hiromitsu Agatsuma – Shamisen
Kouki Agatsuma – Shamisen
Masaru Tsuji – Wadaiko
Ryotaro Leo Ikenaga – Wadaiko
Suguha Otani – Japanese Dance
Yumi Kurosawa – Koto
Takuya Iwata – Shakuhachi
Yuichi Otsuki – Noh Actor
Manabu Takeichi – Noh Musician
Wakichi Kineya – Nagauta Singer
Chotatsuro Imafuji – Nagauta Shamisen
Gotaro Kineya – Nagauta Musician
Katsueiji Kineya – Nagauta Musician
Katsukuniharu Kineya – Nagauta Musician
Tatsujuro Imafuji – Nagauta Musician
Kan Fukuhara – Shinobue

The performance will last approximately two and a half hours with one 20-minute intermission. To purchase tickets, please visit Carnegie Hall’s website.

An Evening of Traditional Japanese Arts by Kosuke Yoshino

Sankyokai

Sankyokai (“Three Resonances”) is an ensemble dedicated to exploring new artistic possibilities through the sound of hayashi—the traditional musical accompaniment of Noh and Kabuki—by fusing the resonances of Japan’s two foremost traditional performing arts. Since its founding in 1997, the group has carried forward the spirit of classical performance while continuing to create sounds that transcend time.

The members are three brothers: Hirotada Kamei, head of the Kadono School of Noh Otsuzumi (large hand drum); Denzaemon Tanaka XIII, head of the Tanaka School of Kabuki music; and Denjiro Tanaka VII, also a Kabuki musician of the Tanaka School.

Their father, Tadao Kamei, was a Living National Treasure in Japan and head of the Kadono School of Noh drumming who performed at Carnegie Hall in 2016; their mother, Sataro Tanaka IX, was the head of the Tanaka School of Kabuki music. Born to parents who represented these two distinct classical traditions, the brothers literally embody the meeting point of Noh and Kabuki.

From early childhood, they grew up exploring boundaries seamlessly between the two worlds—Noh, with its 600-year-old spiritual rigor; and Kabuki, born 200 years later with its vivid theatricality. As they matured, each pursued his own professional path: the eldest, Hirotada, in Noh; the middle brother, Denzaemon, and the youngest, Denjiro, in Kabuki. Yet through years of training, they began to sense a shared desire: to discover a form of expression that could transition between these traditions without breaking their structure or form.

Out of this belief, Sankyokai was born. Three Resonances reflects both the trio’s instruments—Hirotada’s Otsuzumi, Denzaemon’s Kotsuzumi, and Denjiro’s Taiko—and their wish to create a unified resonance born from their individual spirits. From its inception, Sankyokai has sought to present the timeless allure of classical performance in a contemporary context, finding new vitality in the dialogue and contrast between Noh and Kabuki. Today, the three brothers continue their journey as performers, creators, and stewards of Japan’s classical heritage, carrying it forward into the future.

Glossary of Terms

If you are new to traditional Japanese arts, you may not be familiar with the terms in this post. Please refer to the brief primer below to get you up to speed.

Kabuki: Classical Japanese theater that combines singing, acting, and dramatic poses and is known for elaborate costumes and makeup. Although men have performed all the roles since the mid-17th century, kabuki was established by a woman, Izumo no Okuni, around the year 1603. In 2008, UNESCO inscribed kabuki in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Noh: Japan’s oldest major theatrical art form, which has been performed since the 14th century. Based on literary tales, noh’s themes revolve around regret and spiritual transformation. Actors use masks to emphasize emotion and props such as folding fans to enhance the story.

Shamisen: Three-stringed, banjo-like instrument with a long neck and a distinct twangy sound. As one of the instruments providing accompaniment for kabuki, the shamisen enhances dramatic scenes and sets the mood. Originating in China, the Ryukyu Kingdom (what is now Okinawa Prefecture) introduced the instrument to mainland Japan in the mid-16th century.

Wadaiko: The traditional art of Japanese drumming, encompassing drums of a variety of sizes played by a group. Accompanying both kabuki and noh, wadaiko provides rhythm and sound effects and helps to create dramatic tension.

Japanese Dance: Known as Nihon buyo, traditional Japanese dance grew out of kabuki in the 17th century. It is a style of visual storytelling that incorporates refined movements and precise gestures.

Koto: The national instrument of Japan. The koto is a zither made of Paulownia wood and typically has 13 silk strings. Originally associated with gagaku, or court music, the koto is not standard in kabuki or noh.

Shakuhachi: Vertically held Japanese bamboo flute. First introduced from China in the 8th century, the shakuhachi was a staple in gagaku (court) music and later became used in Zen Buddhist meditation.

Nagauta: Genre of traditional Japanese music that literally means “long song.” Developed around the year 1740, nagauta is performed on shamisen to accompany kabuki. It is a lyrical style of music, focused more on expression rather than storytelling.

Shinobue: Japanese transverse bamboo flute with a high-pitched sound. In addition to its important role in kabuki and noh ensembles, the shinobue is integral to Shinto rituals as well as festivals and folk music.

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Susan McCormac 11/6/25 Susan McCormac 11/6/25

Kim Ima’s One-Woman Show at La MaMa

Ready For Company and Other Family Tales is Kim Ima’s one-woman play about family and legacy, an inheritance of stories and unfinished quests from this Jewish/Japanese/American family tree.

Ready for Company and Other Family Tales

Thursday, November 6 through Sunday, November 23

The Downstairs – 66 E. 4th Street (between Bowery and 2nd Avenue)

Admission: $30 | $25 seniors and students

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club presents Ready for Company and Other Family Tales by writer/performer Kim Ima this November 6 through 23 at The Downstairs.

Ready For Company and Other Family Tales is a one-woman play about family and legacy, an inheritance of stories and unfinished quests from this Jewish/Japanese/American family tree. With a complicated family history, Ima excavates meaning from small remembered moments, inherited souvenirs, the oft-repeated family tales (as well as silent secrets) left for her to unpack. Told with music, movement and “show-and-tell” objects, this journey of nostalgia and discovery portrays with humor the beautiful and enigmatic paths of immigration—and what we choose to carry forward.

Refreshments will be served!

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit La MaMa’s website.

Production Credits

Writer/performer: Kim Ima
Director: Megan Paradis Hanley
Dramaturg: Kendall Cornell
Set Design: Mary Olin Geiger
Lighting: Federico Restrepo
Costumes: Gabriel Berry
Sound Design: Leonie Bell

“...I want to tell you something about my mother....and my grandma Rosie...and my pop, and...and, and...Camp. That camp. The one we don’t like to talk about camp.
Camp, camp, camp, camp, camp.
Camp.
And cake. We also need cake.”

— Ready for Company and Other Family Tales by Kim Ima

About Kim Ima

Kim Ima is a performer, writer, and longtime member of La MaMa's Great Jones Rep. Theater credits include playing Cassandra in La MaMa's groundbreaking production of The Trojan Women directed by Andrei Serban and composed by Elizabeth Swados; The Interlude, a play presented by La MaMa about Ima’s American-born Japanese American father and his time in an American concentration camp during WWII; and Sur, a devised theater piece adapted from the short story by beloved science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin, in the Ellen Stewart Theatre in April 2025. Ima performed as a guest artist with Monica Bill Barnes & Company in Lunch Dances at the NYPL.

A founding member of The Trojan Women Project, Ima was the owner of The Treats Truck, a Vendy Award-winning food truck in NYC, and The Treats Truck Stop, a bakery cafe in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. She is the author of the cookbook The Treats Truck Baking Book, published by HarperCollins. To learn more, please visit her website.

About La MaMa

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. La MaMa's 64th Season, LA MAMA NOW, focuses on creating solidarity and building community, exploring ways to build connections for cross-sector coalition and invite artists, activists, organizers and community members into the creative process.

Susan McCormac 3/11/25 Susan McCormac 3/11/25

Explore The Sacred World of Sumo

Explore the sacred world of sumo at The Public Theater

SUMO

Now through Sunday, March 30

The Public Theater – 425 Lafayette Street (at Astor Place)

Admission: $93* | $65* Side seats | $73 Public Supporters and Partners

The New York premiere of SUMO by Lisa Sanaye Dring is running now through March 30. A co-production of Ma-Yi Theater Company and La Jolla Playhouse, SUMO is directed by Obie Award winner Ralph B. Peña.

About the Play

Step into the sacred world of sumo wrestling with Dring’s mesmerizing new drama. Entrenched in an elite sumo training facility in Tokyo, six men practice, eat, love, play, and ultimately fight. Akio arrives as an angry, ambitious 18-year-old with a lot to learn. Expecting validation, dominance, and fame, and desperate to move up the ranks, he slams headlong into his fellow wrestlers. With sponsorship money at stake, their bodies on the line, and their futures at risk, the wrestlers struggle to carve themselves—and one another—into the men they dream of being. SUMO is a thrilling new play set in an elite and rarely explored world. This powerhouse drama features live taiko drumming by Shih-Wei Wu.

For performance times and to purchase tickets, please visit The Public Theater’s website. The listed ticket prices include a $10 per ticket service fee. The fee is waived for Public Theater Supporters & Partners and when purchasing at the Taub Box Office.

Kabuki, Noh, and More at Carnegie Hall