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For the 3rd time festival “Japan Days in Kaunas WA” enchanted Lithuanian and international audience with spectacular performances of talented Japanese artists, who created the celebration both for the admirers of contemporary and traditional arts.

The opening concert of the festival “Japanese Days in Kaunas WA” on 8 May presented a spectacular fashion show by the Japanese designer Sebastian Masuda, who is called the king of Kawaii, with the participation of the Kaunas Dance Theatre “Aura” under the direction of Birutė Letukaitė. For almost 30 years, the designer has been spreading the philosophy of the Japanese Kawaii culture around the world with his unique creations, aiming for everyone to be able to boldly embrace and reveal all their colours. Sebastian Masuda’s work sends the message that Kawaii, or cuteness, can unite everyone, regardless of age, gender, religion or national boundaries, and his art projects and fashion shows have been appreciated by the people of America, the Netherlands, Brazil, Bolivia, South Africa and other countries. This year, he was awarded the CJPF Awards 2024 Grand Prize by the Japanese government for promoting contemporary Japanese culture abroad.

Guests of the concert were also treated to spectacular performances combining Japanese traditional and contemporary arts by special guests from Hiratsuka, Kaunas’ Twin City in Japan, with kabuki dance performer Chiyowaka Ichikawa and tsugaru-shamisen music performer Jack. Representatives of Yaotsu, Kaunas’ other partner city, calligrapher Haru and video projectionist Shuichi Ichikawapresented a spectacular spectacle that fused calligraphy skills with modern technology. The opening concert kicked off the annual festival “Japanese Days in Kaunas WA”, which continues the tradition of “Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022”.

Festival proudly presented once again in Lithuania one of the most renowned names of the avant-garde art scene in Japan, choreographer and interdisciplinary artist Hiroaki Umeda. His work pulsates and mesmerises with its powerful energy, digital graphics and the synergy of the body’s movement on stage. Since founding his company S20, his subtle yet brutal dance performances have travelled around the world to the acclaim of audiences and critics. His work has been recognised for its highly holistic artistic methodology with a strong digital foundation, incorporating not only physical elements such as dance, but also optical, aural, sensory and, above all, spatial and temporal components. In his digital projection and dance performances “while going to a condition” and “Intensional Particle”, Hiroaki Umeda created magnetism drawing the audience into a performance that is more felt than understood. Digital reality saturated with “unstable stability”, with a spectacular lighting architecture, choreography and the artist’s own dance on a stage that merged with the human body like a living organism through impressive digital graphics.

Festival continued to impress the audience with the variety of Japanese arts in the following days. Yukina Yamamoto invited to experience the tradition of calligraphy accompanied by modern dance performance “Ibuki – Breath of Life” with Finnish dancer Tuuli Malla. The Japanese word ibuki reflects the spring season and the circle of life. Through ibuki, possibilities unfold, marking new beginnings. Every breath is a new beginning. Yukina Yamamoto and Tuuli Malla explored the qualities of ibuki through Japanese calligraphy and dance, embodying the cycles of life and the breath with the body and the calligraphic brush.

Final day of the festival was crowned by the closing concert merging traditional, contemporary dance and the power of Taiko music. Audience had an opportunity to experience the storytelling through the traditional Japanese dance performed by renowned artists Yusumire Otowa and Koho Otowa. Their performances were followed by impressive Taiko music and modern dance show by Toru Hasegawa. Standing ovations kept going long after the end of both performances.

Days were filled with workshops dedicated for various age groups and tastes. People were especially interested in Japanese tea culture events presented by Taishi Shimizu, representing the 10th generation of the Shimizu-ya family farm. “Shimizu-ya” has been growing and preparing tencha, which produces the finest matcha tea, in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, for more than 300 years. People also had an opportunity to experience the tea ceremony with master Shiho Miyawaki and ikebana performances created by floral artist Kaoruko.

“Japan Days in Kaunas WA” being the biggest festival dedicated to Japanese culture in Lithuania together with strong network of partners offered the wide range of events including concerts, performances, lectures, workshops, exhibitions and many other inspiring people to understand and love Japan even more.