PRESS CONFERENCE

Kyogen Women Want Gender Equality in Japanese Performance Arts
Junko Izumi, the first professional female Kyogen performer
Tokuro Miyake, the second professional female Kyogen performer

15:00-16:00 Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation


Noh theater, like many other Japanese arts, has been dominated by male performers since women were banned from the stage nearly 600 years ago. However, sisters Junko Izumi and Tokuro Miyake, are determined to change the status quo. They are the first and the second female professional performers of Kyogen ("mad words" or "wild speech"), which is a comic theater usually performed during the intermission of a Noh play.

For the past 50 years, Izumi and Miyake have tried to pave the way for professional female kyogen performers. When they were young girls, their grandfather, Motohide Izumi, the 19th generation head of the Izumi school of Kyogen, along with their father, began training them as professional performers without regard to their gender. Male Kyogen (and Noh) performers neither warmly welcomed this idea nor openly opposed it. Although the situation has not changed much in the past 50 years, the Izumi school continues to be the sole organization of its kind in Japan that offers gender-equal performances.

How to attend:
Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, the name of your media outlet, and FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions attendance will be limited. Doors open 15 minutes before the event. Please sign in, giving your name and contact details at the reception, and have your temperature taken before proceeding.

How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live
Livestreaming of the press events will be available and video of this event will be uploaded to our FCCJ YouTube channel.

How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/Vzh4QqrWqy14DxdP7
Members watching the event online can submit questions for the speakers in advance using this submission form.

TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 30 minutes before the event.

Professional Activities Committee