Passing of my hero Sennojo SHigeyama, a great teacher, actor, and director passed away today. He was 88, and had last performed Oct 8th at the Shigeyama annual recital as a 99 year-old lecherous but cute old man. He will be missed. Sennojo was a child prodigy, making his stage debut at three years old, then performing at many events at department stores and festivals with his older brother,Senaku, still going, if not so strongly, at 91. But as the second son, he was not planning on a full-time kyogen career during pre-War Japan, so went to a commercial college, then learned to do accounting for Comfort Women stations and other facilities in Manchuria. On his return, he began his lifelong incredulity with the authorities and the press, who had lied so long and well about Japanese military successes abroad. While performing on weekends, he entered the black-market, then one day discovered a fox mask in an antique store, which led him back to kyogen full-time. His brother and he became kn...
an occasional document of theatrical life in Kyoto and the virtual world at the beginning of the 21st century