（English）Bringing eternal Ryukyuan dance to the future!

Support the stage where Ryukyuan dance performers pass down the traditional art to future generation

 

Izumi-kai is a Ryukyuan dance troupe, which belongs to the Tamagusuku-ryu or school. Izumi-kai has been contributing to Ryukyuan dance and cultural activities in Okinawa with the support of many people.

 

 

Since the start of the pandemic, many events have been cancelled and postponed, and we have lost many opportunities to perform in front of a live audience. As performers, we improve and refine our technique by working with and learning from other masters and seniors on stage, but with the cancellation of events, we are getting more and more concerned about how we can pass down our traditional art to the next generation. 

 

 

Members of Izumi-kai would very much like to organize a large event to celebrate this occasion but were at first unsure if it can be pulled off during the pandemic. However, we decided to host this event because Master Matayoshi said, "We must not lose to COVID-19. I will do my best to keep performing Ryukyuan dance and help preserve this important traditional art for our future generation.”

 

Ryukyuan dance originated from “prayers” and has been passed down for generations until today. Ryukyuan dance is considered our "nuchigusui" (word in Okinawan language for “medicine of life”), which can heal both the body and spirit. Through the "Thousand Year Prayer" performance, we hope this traditional art can continue to bring peace to the world for the next thousand years. 

 

Thank you so much for your support!

 

＞＞How to Support by Credit Card

 

 

 

Cultivating young dancers & expanding Okinawan performing arts

 

 

"Thousand Year Prayer" will be performed by members of Izumi-kai, Teda-no-kai (founded by Master Shizue Matayoshi’s younger sister, Master Chie Tamagusuku), alumni from Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts, up-and-coming professional dancers and also performers that are new to the stage. Programs include Okinawan "classical dance", "original dance", and "restored work" under the supervision of Master Shizue Matayoshi.

 

 

 

Okinawa Memorial Day – consoling the souls of people that lost their lives during the war

 

 

"Thousand Year Prayer" will be performed on June 23rd, also known as Okinawa Memorial Day. This is an important day for people in Okinawa and the opening program will be a requiem dance with gamelan (traditional Indonesian ensemble music) praying for peace in Okinawa and the world.

 

"Okinawa Memorial Day" ... June 23, 1945, is recognized as the day that the Battle of Okinawa ended. The war killed more than 200,000 people and memorial services are held in Okinawa every year to remember those that lost their lives during the war.

 

 

Bringing the stage to Shuri Castle one day!

 

 

One year has passed since the tragic fire burnt down Shuri Castle in October 2019. This was a great loss for everyone that was involved with Ryukyuan performing arts.

 

When Master Shizue Matayoshi was a professor at the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts, she would always look out the window to see Shuri Castle nearby, imagining what kind of dance piece were performed during the Ryukyu Kingdom era and how she can revive the performing arts from the past. The restored works by Master Shizue Matayoshi all originated from the Shuri Castle during the Ryukyu Kingdome era. The "Thousand Year Prayer" performance is filled with hope that these restored works can be performed again in the main hall of Shuri Castle when it is reconstructed. We hope to use the stage for "Thousand Year Prayer" as a platform to bring together everyone that cares about Shuri Castle and Okinawa into one “prayer”.

"Performing arts from Ryukyuan missions to Edo" ...  During the Edo period, the Ryukyu Kingdom dispatched missions when a new king of Ryukyu or Tokugawa shogun was inaugurated. It is said that the envoys presented Ryukyuan music and dance at Edo Castle and the Satsuma Edo Residence, but the art was lost to the world.

 

 

70 years of Ryukyuan dance with Master Shizue Matayoshi & Izumi-kai of Tamagusuku-ryu

 

 

Master Shizue Matayoshi is the founder of Izumi-kai under the Tamagusuku-ryu. Joining the world of Ryukyuan performing arts in 1949, she received the highest teaching diploma in 1970, and opened her Ryukyuan dance dojo (school) the following year. In 1991, Master Matayoshi began teaching Ryukyuan dance at the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts and was proactively engaged in training a new generation of traditional dancers and organized numerous solo performances and events. Moreover, she has dedicated her life to training young artists at the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts, academic research (restoration projects), and development of traditional performing art in Okinawa.

 

＝＝Reward＝＝
 

A-1. “Nifedebiru” package①

3,000 JPY

 

A-2. “Nifedebiru” package②

5,000 JPY

 

A-3. “Nifedebiru” package③

10,000 JPY

 

● Thank you email (messages and photos from the performers)

　* We will gain as much support as possible to implement the project.

 

“Nifedebiru” = Thank you!

 

B. “Ippei Nifedebiru” package

5,000 JPY

● Behind the scenes and rehearsal videos (limited access)

　* We will show a “fun” backstage video that audience usually cannot see

● Thank you email (messages and photos from the performers)

 

“Ippei Nifedebiru” = Thanks so much!

 

C-1. “Churayuri” package 

5,000 JPY

● We will decorate the theater with lilies from Ie Island, Okinawa, to pray for world peace

　* We will prepare one lily for each contribution

● Thank you email (messages and photos from the performers)

 

“Churayuri” = Pure Lily – praying for peace

 

F. “Umikanasa” package

10,000 JPY

● We will decorate the theater with lilies from Ie Island, Okinawa, to pray for world peace

　* We will prepare one lily for each contribution

● Behind the scenes and rehearsal videos (limited access)

　* We will show a “fun” backstage video that audience usually cannot see

● Thank you email (messages and photos from the performers)

 

“Umikanasa” = Thoughtfulness