Kyogen

Upon returning to our hotel, we convened in a banquet room for a kyogen performance (traditional Japanese theater dating back 600 years).  It was a short, interestingly comedic performance followed by a discussion by Don Kenny- one of the actors who is also founder of the English acting troupe that translates and performs kyogen for English speakers worldwide. Kenny was stationed at the Atsugi Naval Air Faclity in Kanagawa, Japan when serving the U.S. Navy in the early 1960's.  He fostered an interest in traditional Japanese theater which led him to study the Japanese language and translate kyogen.   He now trains actors in Japan to perform kyogen in English and his troupe performs around the world.  We concluded with a question/answer session and then had some much-needed free time before our ceremonial Opening Reception.