Tokyo—NTDTV's 2007 production of the Chinese New Year Spectacular, featuring the Divine Performing Arts Troupe, won excellent reviews from Japanese audiences for its performances in Tokyo, Japan.
After watching the March 14 show in Tokyo, Ms. Marie Kawai, President of Ikebana International, said that the show expresses a world of divine beings and that the traditional Chinese culture and spirituality is built on humankind seeking salvation from the Buddhas and divine beings. Ms. Kawai highly praised the show and she hopes that the Spectacular will grace Tokyo next year too.
Before the premier show in Tokyo, Ikebana International delivered a giant ikebana to NTDTV, to wish the success of the show. Ikebana is unique to Japanese culture, and the Japanese art of flower arrangement is famous all around the world.
During the intermission, Ms. Kawai told the reporter that the show was incomparably spectacular and many of the artists are highly talented. She added that the Erhu solo was wonderful and the vocalists were magnificent, and she only felt sad that each of them could perform only one piece.
Ms. Kawai said that this show is very different from other art performances from China. "It is named 'Divine Beauty.' It is expressing the world of divine beings. Today's society has become a world without any divine being and a world left only with humankind, but each nation has its own mythology. Regardless of which mythology or region, it shares the same origin. It is humankind's instinct to seek salvation from Buddhas and divine beings. The traditional Chinese culture and spirituality also understand this," said Ms. Kawai. She said that although this performance incorporates new techniques of expression, one could tell that it highly values traditional Chinese culture.
Ms. Kawai is an expert on Chinese history and calligraphy. She is familiar with the variety of Chinese dynasties over 5,000 years, but specifically with the true essence of the Tang Dynasty, which many believe was the peak of Chinese civilization.
"A large portion of Japanese culture came from China," said Ms. Kawai. "That's why there are so many similarities between Japan and China. Take kanji (Chinese characters in Japanese language), Buddhism and calligraphy as examples. The Chinese civilization reached its zenith in the Tang Dynasty. Before the Tang Dynasty, there were many large and small dynasties and wars. The Tang Dynasty united the Chinese nation. You can say the Chinese civilization did not truly blossom until the Tang Dynasty. Influences from the Tang Dynasty have been preserved and are still intact in Japan even to this day. During the Tang Dynasty, many moguls in Japan traveled to China because they were drawn to the magnificent culture of the Tang Dynasty. Those moguls brought Buddhism and the Tang culture back to Japan from China at that time. As a result, many Buddhist temples in Tang Dynasty styles were built in Kyoto and Nara."
Ms. Kawai added that, since the Tang Dynasty, the traditional Chinese culture has been spread widely around the world. Today we can see Tang People Street (aka Chinatown) in every country in the world. The actors in today's performance are overseas Chinese as well.
Ms. Kawai used ikebana as an analogy for the performance. "When people look at flowers, they feel comfort and hope at heart. That's why people like to use flowers for sad or happy occasions. This is because flowers have souls. In Japan, we have learned from the Chinese culture that flowers were used in ritual offerings for the Buddha in Buddhist temples at first. Japan's beautiful landscape nurtures flowers. Japan's ikebana is about adding souls to naturally grown flowers in specific form. Giving souls to flowers is why ikebana is able to touch people. You must touch yourself first before you can touch others," said Ms. Kawai. "Today's performance is the same. It has a divine quality and it is expressed in the form of an extravagant performing art. The actors have touched themselves, so they are able to touch the audience."
Ikebana International is an international flower arrangement association governed by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its mission is to introduce Japanese ikebana art and relevant Japanese culture and art. There are 165 Ikebana International chapters and nearly 10,000 members in 60 countries around the world. Its honorary president is Takamadonomiyahi of the Japanese Royal family.
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